Fallen
by B. Silverbow
Summary: When a new vegetarian vampire coven move to Forks, the Cullens couldn't be more surprised. That is, until they realise that one of the family isn't a vampire, but she sure as hell isn't human. Bellice fic. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, this is my first time writing anything so go easy on me. I would teally like if if you could point out any mistakes and tell me what I'm doing wrong. But mainly, please tell me how to improve, it's called constructive criticism for a reason. Also, I'm technologically retarded, so if I mess up the format or something, please tell me how to fix it.**

**If you have a problem with girl/girl relationships, don't read this FanFic.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, like, at all. It all belong to SM, I'm just changing the story a lot...**

**Prelude**

It was one of those nights that could make all of your problems seem trivial, where one could simply enjoy existing in such a beautiful world. A night where the moon was new and the wind whistled through the dark forest.

It was also a night where the world's most dangerous predators were hunting.

Four pale shapes blurred through the trees, too fast for the human eye to see, leaping over any obstacles in their path with grace that would make any dancer jealous. All of the forest animals that they passed bolted for the protection of their dens, burrows or nests respectively. The crickets had stopped chirping as soon as they had set foot in the forest and they only started up again when the figures we long gone.

Suddenly, one of the shapes dove to the right and slammed into one of its companions, sending them both tumbling into the under bush. The two remaining figures stopped and began walking back to them.

"Damn it, Lee, what the hell!" a small vampire shouted, her red hair swishing as she shoved the taller vampire off of her. He flew backwards, landing on his feet and quickly ducked to avoid her fist.

"Sorry Jess, I couldn't resist. You get so focused when you hunt," he said between bouts of laughter," Besides, I told you I would get you back for putting all of my clothes in that wood chipper. Consider this your punishment."

After a few more seconds of being doubled over with laughter, he finally managed to regain his composure and once again had to dodge a blow from his irate sister, who at this point was close to smiling herself.

Two more vampires, one male and one female, walked into the clearing at a more human pace and proceeded to silently glare at the two teenagers. Their steely countenance was ruined by the way their lips curved up slightly at the childishness before them.

The woman took another step forward and pulled a leaf from Jesse's hair. "Honestly, you're both over five decades old but you act like you're only five. What are we going to do with you?" Turning, she moved back to the man and kissed him. "Any ideas Micheal?"

The man wrapped his arm around her shoulders and looked at the two thoughtfully. "Well, we could always turn their rooms into a game room. Or we could get all the good deer." Golden eyes shining, he and his mate took off running in the same direction they were going before the interruption.

The two remaining vampires shared a startled glance and quickly followed the others.

"Hey, that's no fair! Leave some for us!" Jesse shouted, doing her best to catch them, "Michael, Clare, if you take them all, I'm not helping pack the furniture!"

Lee turned to look at her, his golden eyes almost obscured by his long black hair. "Yeah, that'll scare them."

"Oh, shut up. You just _had_ to tackle me, didn't you?" she grumbled, finally spotting her adoptive parents in a clearing, drinking from two bucks, having needed only a moment to catch them. The rest of the herd had scattered and after a few more seconds of running, she and Lee both pounced on their own deer, quickly snapping their necks to spare them any unnecessary pain.

As soon as they finished, they jogged back to their parents, who were still in the clearing.

Wiping his mouth, Lee looked around at all of them."So, we done?"

After a chorus of 'Yeah', they all turned to go home to the house that they would soon have to leave to avoid suspicion. Sometimes being forced to move every few years was a real pain.

Before they could get more than a few steps, a roaring sound filled their ears, as though a lion was standing right behind them.

All four of them crouched down, trying to find the source of the noise.

A light appeared on the tops of the trees, steadily getting brighter and they stared in absolute astonishment at what seemed to be a comet sweeping low over the forest. Or, at least it would have seemed like a comet had the flames not been dark blue instead of orange.

They tracked the racing object with their eyes until it disappeared from their sight, quickly followed by an explosion.

Automatically, Jesse responded with an excited shout. "That wasn't too far from here. Let's go check it out!" Without waiting for an answer, she took off in the direction of the comet, soon hearing the sounds of her family running behind her.

It didn't take long for her to find where the comet had landed, seeing as there was now a smoking hole in the forest, the trees on each side of it charred and crumbling, the ground a black lake of ash.

"Whoa, are you guys seeing this?" she whispered, walking towards the centre of the crater. The ground was hot beneath her feet and she could smell the rubber soles of her shoes burning slightly. That, coupled with the stench of charred wood, and she decided that she should stop breathing altogether.

Moving faster to sate her curiosity, she finally reached the place where the comet should lie. However, instead of a hunk of rock, what she saw shocked her completely.

Right in the centre of the crater, nestled in what looked like a silver blanket, was an infant girl. Jesse sucked in a huge mouthful of air in her surprise and with it the most beautiful scent she had ever come across. It was absolutely gorgeous, yet she felt no burning in her throat, no desire to drain her blood.

The gasps coming from behind told her that her family had seen the baby.

Speaking slowly through her shock, she whispered," Is...Is she the comet?" Saying it out loud, it seemed ridiculous, but there was no way a baby would survive getting hit with a huge flaming rock, only to be left completely unharmed right in the middle of the carnage. Then again, there was no way a baby could survive falling from the sky, while on fire either.

Micheal took several steps and stooped to pick up the squirming infant, fully expecting it to start crying as soon as he touched it. Instead, when the baby was safely in his arms, she snuggled in closer to him, staring up at him with beautiful, shining blue eyes, the brightest he had ever seen. Her hair was a stunning shade, snow white with a silver sheen and there was a lot of it for such a young child.

He was so transfixed by those beautiful eyes, that he failed to notice the blanket falling until he heard another set of gasps from his still un-moving family. Tearing his gaze away from those eyes, he looked at the people around him, seeing them staring at the child in his arms. Or rather, at her back.

Shifting the infant in his arms, he looked at what his family was so stunned by and let out a gasp of his own.

Right there, attached to the girls back, was a pair of snow white wings.

**A/N: So, what do you think? If you want me to continue please review and tell me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **Wow, I wasn't expecting that kind of response. Over 500 hits on my first day and so far 19 reviews. Thank you so much. I'll try to keep the story updated but I want to make sure that I do a good job and don't screw up. Also, I tried to make this chapter extra long for you guys.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Clare, Jesse, Micheal and Lee. Everything else belongs to SM.**

_Shifting the infant in his arms, he looked at what his family was so stunned by and let out a gasp of his own._

_Right there, attached to the girls back, was a pair of snow white wings._

**17 years later...**

"Bella! Hey Bella! Wake up. It's time for our first day of school in this abysmal town and your first day of school ever. We don't want to be late." Jesse yelled from downstairs in an attempt to get me up. However, in my sleep addled state, only one word stuck with me. Late. Oh, God. Did I oversleep on my first day of school? Surely that was a bad start to my academic career.

Eyes wide, I leapt out of my bed and ran to the bathroom, deftly avoiding the pair of ice skates that I had managed to leave in front of the door. "Are we gonna be late? Did I oversleep? You should have woken me up sooner!" I shouted, in a panic over the list of things that could go wrong today.

I had just entered the bathroom when I heard laughter from downstairs, along with quiet whispers.

"I told you she'd over-react. She probably didn't even look at the clock" The voice was once again my sister's, but the laughter that followed was undeniably my brother Lee's.

Stopping in my tracks, I slowly turned to look at the clock on my bedside table. 6:30 am. Growling slightly, I started walking down the wide stairs to the living room, picturing the smug looks on my siblings faces. I can't believe that I fell for this. Again. I should know better by now.

Sure enough, as soon as I walked into the big room, both of them started laughing.

I crossed my arms and glared at them. "Ok, this may be funny for you because you've gone to school countless times. I, on the other hand, have never been. So can we tone down the jokes please, I'm nervous enough as it is."

Lee cleared his throat and looked at his feet, "Sorry, Bells. We'll behave, I promise," Lifting his right hand, he gave the Boy Scout salute, elbowing Jesse until she did the same.

Jesse made a sound that was halfway between a grunt and an affirmation. Standing from her place on the white leather couch, she came over and wrapped me in a hug. "You don't have to worry, Bella. I know it's your first time going to school and everything, but you always keep your cool, no matter what."

I returned her hug, still feeling slightly miffed at their joke but knowing that I couldn't stay mad at either of them for long. "It's not so much school itself, rather the people there. I mean, as sad as it sounds, I don't really know how to interact with people my age," I could tell she was about to protest, so I quickly continued, "Not that your crash course wasn't helpful."

Chuckling, she pulled back, "Well, considering that I'm nowhere near your age, I think I did pretty good." Leaving one arm around my shoulders, she led me to the couch and pulled me down beside her. "All you really need to know is that most teenage boys are horny and a high percentage of the girls are bitches. But that doesn't mean that they're all bad."

Lee gave a small laugh on the other side of her. "Way to make her feel better, Jesse. Did you practice that little pep talk?" Still smiling, he turned to look at me, ignoring Jesse's huff, "Bella, you've never been to any kind of public institution and for good reason. However, we all agreed that, now that we have all of those problems out of the way, it should be okay for us to go back to school. You've been excited about this all month and it's only now that you're second guessing your decision. You may not have spent any time around people your age before, but you'll do fine."

Sitting forward so that she blocked my view of Lee, Jesse but both of her hands on my shoulders and looked me right in the eyes, "You really should watch out for those teenage boys though. They'll definitely hit on you and you have to be prepared. Remember, just say no." She didn't look too pleased with the idea of guys hitting on me.

Lee's eyes narrowed when he looked around Jesse. "If any of those boys bother you, just come to me or Jess and we'll sort them out. No one hits on our baby sister without her consent."

Looking at Jesse, I could see her nodding her agreement and I felt a pang of worry for the boys of Forks. Quickly standing up, I faced my two siblings. "Okay, I'm good, minor freak-out over. I'll be down in a few minutes."

Turning, I ran up the stairs at human speed, remembering that I needed to practice doing everything slowly now. Walking into my room, I glanced at my cat, Sanderson, stretched out on my bed without a care in the world. We had found him as a kitten on the side of the road about three years ago. His mother had just been hit by a car and I couldn't leave him alone to fend for himself. Of course, being a sane animal, he had been freaked out by my vampire family at first, jumping into my arms whenever any of them had gotten close. It had taken about three months of near-constant coaxing on my part to get him to relax around them and now he was totally fine. He was probably the only cat in the entire world that actually went up to vampires to be petted.

Once again walking into my bathroom, I stripped off my pyjamas, a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt and threw them into the clothes bin.

Hopping into the shower, I hurriedly turned it on and started washing, enjoying the warm water. It had taken me ages to find a body wash that didn't smell bad to my sensitive nose, but I had finally found one in an old herbal shop during one of my infrequent visits into town. Now that we'd moved, I'd have to find a new one.

While I washed, I thought about my upcoming day at school. Usually, panicking wasn't my thing, whatever happened, happened, but it was just such a new thing for me. I mean, it's not like I had been living in a cave for the past seventeen years or anything. I had gone places and done stuff, but growing up with vampires means that you don't get a lot of chances to interact with people and my own, unique nature meant that we didn't do much mingling outside our own home. That even extended to other vampires. Other than my family, I had only met three others, and none of those meetings had gone well.

Sighing, I switched off the stream of water and stepped out, quickly wrapping a towel around myself. Heading over to the sink, I wiped the steam off of the mirror and stared at my reflection.

Bright blue eyes stared back at me through a mane of silver-white hair. Because of that pale hair and my very pale skin, the only colour on me were my eyes and my red lips, which were full and, like everything else about me, perfect. In the looks department, I outshone my entire vampire family by miles and I hated it.

I honestly don't know what I would do without my ring, which, aside from the blanket, was the only object they found on me that day in the forest. Spying the very object on the shelf above the sink, I picked it up and studied it.

It was nothing ostentatious, a simple band of silver with a vine-and-leaf pattern and a small, dark blue stone in the centre, yet it was beautiful.

Slipping it on my finger, I felt the familiar electrical tingle run through my body and I once again looked at my reflection. Instead of my normal, highly noticeable shades of eye and hair colour, both were now a nice, simple brown. My facial features shifted, becoming less perfect and more human. I was still beautiful by human standards, but now people would be more focused on my siblings than me. Without my ring, I would never have been able to go out in public without attracting a whole load of attention, and while I had no idea who had given me the ring, I was eternally grateful.

Satisfied with my second appearance, I walked back into my room and got dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a forest green shirt. Over that, I put on a brown jacket, hopefully enough protection against the near-constant rain in Forks. Sanderson gave a lazy meow which I chose to take as a 'Good morning', so I bent down and scratched him behind the ear. He immediately started purring and leaned into my hand.

I smiled at his attempt at getting more rubs, "Sorry, Sandy, I got to go. I'm a student now," I heard Jesse scoff downstairs," and that means that I'm not going to be around as much as I used to."

Giving him one final scratch, I picked up my backpack from beside the door and went back down stairs.

My parents were already waiting for me in the kitchen, identical proud smiles on their faces.

"Jeez, it's not like I'm going off to join the army, it's just high school." I said, opening the fridge and taking out some milk, filling up a glass before returning the carton.

Clare gave me a quick hug and smiled warmly at me, "We're your parents, we get to be excited on your first day of real school, regardless of whether or not you already know the entire curriculum and are seventeen years old. It's still a first and you don't have many of those left."

Jesse chose that moment to speak up, "Sure she does. She has her first crush, her first kiss, her first time punching a guy who keeps on making advances and her first time throwing someone's prize possessions into a wood chipper." As she said that last she surreptitiously moved away from Lee, who was glaring at her back, no doubt remembering all of the times she had thrown something of his into the wood chipper. She really loved that machine.

Micheal stepped in between the two of them, holding up his hand and counting off fingers," Firstly, if you guys don't hurry up you _will_ be late. Secondly, I have no intention of letting any boy kiss Bella until she is at least fifty-three. Human males are really not that clean-minded and thirdly, Jesse you have to stop with the wood chipper. I don't care how much you enjoy it, I'm sick of finding bits of household items floating around the garage and considering that I've told you countless times to stop already, I'll just assume that you're not even listening to me." As predicted, Jesse was staring absentmindedly at the microwave.

As soon as Clare saw where she was looking, she moved in front the machine protectively. "Jesse, you promised no electrical appliances."

Shrugging, Jesse turned away and mumbled that she'd be waiting in the car.

I downed my milk, not bothering to eat any solid food as my metabolism was fine with small quantities. Putting my glass in the sink, I shot upstairs and brushed my teeth quickly.

Back in the kitchen, I gave both of my parents a kiss on the cheek and followed Lee outside to our Toyota. I had persuaded them to pick a nice, simple car so that we wouldn't attract any more attention than was strictly necessary.

Hopping inside, I sat quietly as Jesse peeled out of the driveway, going well above the speed limit.

"You do know where Forks high school is, don't you?" I asked, wondering whether or not we were even going in the right direction.

She scoffed, looking offended, "I did remember to get directions. Jeez, I'm not that ditzy."

Now it was Lee's turn to scoff, which he quickly cut off when Jesse shot daggers at him.

Staring out the window, through the perpetual rain, I spotted the school. Now, I had always been under the assumption that schools were one big building, but this was more like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-coloured bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs that, at first, I couldn't see its size.

Pulling into the parking lot, I noticed that almost all of the cars were second hand and very old, the only exception being a shiny silver Volvo. Next to most of these cars, our simple Toyota seemed like a Mercedes. So much for our car blending in.

Getting out, we headed to the building with the word Office written above it and dove inside to avoid getting wet. Usually, I liked the rain, but not when I'd have to spend the whole day in school wearing wet clothes.

Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than expected. The office was small; a little waiting area with uncomfortable-looking chairs and a pile of out-dated magazines on the small table beside them. The carpet was a horrible shade of orange and there were so many potted plants that it looked like a greenhouse that had decided to fight back. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses.

She looked up and as soon as her eyes rested on us, her mouth dropped open.

While the red haired woman, Mrs. Cope according to her name tag, was still trying to think of something to say, Lee stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Lee van Allen and these are my sisters, Jesse and Bella. We're the new students and I was told you'd be expecting us." His voice was honey sweet and it just made Mrs. Cope have even more difficulty speaking.

She laid a bundle of papers on the counter and managed to stutter out, "Maps, schedules and slip. Please get your teachers to sign it and bring it back at the end of the day." When Lee didn't move, she made a wild gesture towards the papers and made a dash to the back room.

Chuckling slightly, Lee picked up the papers and compared schedules. Seeing as both Lee and Jesse were going to be seniors and I was going to be a junior, I wouldn't have any classes with them. "Ok, Jess, we got third, fifth and sixth period together. And Bella, we'll see you at lunch."

I gave him a nod and took my papers from him, actually looking forward to the school experience.

Checking my schedule, I discovered that I had English first period. Not bad, a subject that I didn't mind. A quick glance at the map and I had it memorised, already on my way to room 3.

Once I got around the cafeteria, it was easy to spot, mainly because of the huge, black '3' painted on the side. Walking up to the door, I paused, catching a scent that I couldn't quiet identify. It seemed familiar, a sweet, fruity fragrance that would be worth millions if it could be bottled, but the rain had washed most of it away and I couldn't place it.

Still thinking about that strange scent, I absentmindedly gave the teacher- a tall, balding man named Mr. Mason- my slip to sign and he gave it back to me after telling me to sit at the back next to Ms. Cullen.

I began walking down the aisle, only now realising that the scent was much stronger and was continuing to grow.

Jerking my head up in the direction that the scent was coming from, I met the startled golden eyes of a vegetarian vampire. One that wasn't a family member.

**A/N: Okay, second chapter up. I wasn't expecting to get it finished but thanks to those awesome reviews, I tried extra-hard. Once again please tell me what you think and any advice you have, please share it with me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Time for the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. I'll try and keep the chapters long enough, but it's hard.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Clare, Micheal, Jesse and Lee.**

_Still thinking about that strange scent, I absentmindedly gave the teacher- a tall, balding man named Mr. Mason- my slip to sign and he gave it back to me after telling me to sit at the back next to Ms. Cullen._

_I began walking down the aisle, only now realising that the scent was much stronger and was continuing to grow._

_Jerking my head up in the direction that the scent was coming from, I met the startled golden eyes of a vegetarian vampire. One that wasn't a family member._

I completely froze. She was a vampire, one that I didn't know. She shouldn't be here. My family would have known about another vampire in the area. Once again noticing her eyes, I quickly amended my last statement. Another _vegetarian _vampire in the area. This was bad.

Over the years, I had found the limitations of my ring. The one that concerned me now was that the ring only lessened my natural scent, enough to avoid suspicion from humans, but it would still be slightly noticeable to vampires. She would definitely know that I wasn't human when her throat didn't start burning, despite how good I smelled. Oh, crap.

Wait, what did Mr. Mason call her? Ms. Cullen? As in the famous (vampire-wise) Cullen Clan? The first vegetarian vampire family, led by Carlisle Cullen, the first and, to this day, only, vampire doctor? Did that mean that the rest of her siblings were here too? The only one of them that I knew by name was Dr. Cullen, but I did know that there were seven of them in total, five of them teenagers. Were all five of them here?

Only after I had asked myself all of those questions did I truly take in anything about her appearance, other than her golden eyes.

She was small, smaller than either Jesse or I, despite the fact that she looked around eighteen. Just like the rest of her, her features were small and delicate, like those found on a china doll. Her hair was ink-black, cropped short and pointing in every direction. Like every vampire, her skin was pale and flawless and she was beautiful.

All of a sudden, I found my fear of discovery diminishing. She didn't look malicious; surely she wouldn't do anything rash. I mean, she was a member of the Cullen Clan, and they weren't exactly known for causing trouble.

No, I shouldn't be thinking like this. Regardless of who she was, she could still be dangerous. I'd just have to keep my distance until I got the chance to talk to my family.

While all of this was going through my head, only a second or two had passed. Quickly unfreezing, I kept walking forward and sat down beside her, not missing her intake of breath when she caught my scent. I also didn't fail to notice the extremely curious looks that I was getting from the other students in the class. Stealing a glance at her from under my hair, I saw that she was still looking at me with a confused expression on her perfect face.

Thankfully, Mr. Mason began his lecture at that point and I turned to face the front of the class, hoping that the girl beside me would do the same. I didn't even know her name, which bothered me. I mean, if she was going to be a threat to me, then I should at least know what to call her and I doubt that she would respond well to 'Hey you!', or, 'Vampire!'. But that would mean starting a conversation with her and I wasn't prepared to do that. Maybe she would just forget about it.

That hope was dashed when I felt her lean over towards me and her scent got a whole lot stronger. What was that? It was some kind of fruit, maybe mangoes. No, that's not right. Maybe...uh, why does it even matter what kind of fruit she smells like? She's about to say something.

"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen and you must be Isabella van Allen. It's nice to meet you." Her voice was like music, just like every other vampire, yet it was still unique.

"Yeah, that's me, but I prefer Bella. It's nice to meet you too." I tried to sound disinterested so that she would take the hint but if she noticed, then she completely ignored it.

"So, how are you liking Forks so far, Bella?" she asked. I was not under the illusion that she was trying to get to know me, for me. She was probably trying to get to know me better to figure out if _I_ was a threat.

For some reason this annoyed me and my reply had more of a bite than I had intended, "There are some things that I could do without," Seeing the flash of shock and hurt cross her face, I quickly realised that because of my tone of voice, she thought one of those things was her. I felt a stab of panic, worried that I had unintentionally insulted her and quickly amended my statement, "The rain, for example, its way too wet here." Ok, that was a lie, I liked the rain. Come to think of it, why did I say that there were some things that I could do without? So far I liked Forks.

Still lost in thought, I almost didn't notice her relieved smile. She probably wasn't used to people not liking her. Not that I disliked her, she seemed like a nice person. Then again, vampires were great actors.

I was still wary of her, but I found myself paying more attention to her when she spoke again.

"Really? Personally, I like the rain. I think it's beautiful." She was right, the rain was beautiful.

Once again, Mr. Mason piped up, "Well, it's nice to see that you are making friends, Ms. van Allen, but could you please do it outside of my classroom? That goes for you too, Ms. Cullen."

Blushing at being caught talking in class on my first day, I quickly turned to the front of the room, trying to ignore the other students in the class, who seemed to find all of this _way _too interesting.

Putting thoughts of Alice out of my head, which was hard seeing as she was sitting right next to me, I focused on the teacher for the rest of the class, disappointed that I had already read all of the books on the reading list. So much for public school being a challenge. Well, in English anyway, I still had lots of classes to go.

It was for the best anyway, I had to stay away from her and her family for the time being.

As soon as the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and greasy black hair leaned across the aisle to talk to me, sparing Alice a wary glance on my far side.

"Hey, I'm Eric. You're Isabella van Allen, aren't you? " He asked in a tone of voice that said he already knew the answer. The why would he ask that question?

"Bella, "I corrected him. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.

"Where's your next class?" He asked, smiling in a friendly manner.

Without looking in my bag, I responded immediately. "Government, with Jefferson, in building six." Maybe I should have pretended to think about that first.

At this point, everyone was looking at me curiously, including Alice who was still packing away her things, one pen at a time. Why should my next class matter to her? Unless we had the same one. I couldn't tell if the disappointed look on her face was because we did or because we didn't.

She answered my question by standing up and turning to face me. "Looks like we won't be sharing the next class. Well, it was nice meeting you, Bella. I'll see you around." With that, she walked out of the classroom, leaving the rest of the students looking shocked.

Confused, I looked at Eric. "What?"

He closed his mouth and faced me again, tearing his eyes away from the door where Alice had disappeared. "Sorry. It's just that the Cullen's don't really talk to people and Alice was acting really nice to you. Must be because you're new." Or because I'm not human.

Shrugging, he offered to walk me to my next class. Huh, the boys of Forks High seemed to be nice enough, even though Jesse painted such a bad picture of them.

I smiled tentatively. "Thanks." Maybe interacting with people my own age wasn't going to be too difficult.

Over the course of the next few classes, I began to recognise more of the faces in each class. A nice girl named Jessica even asked me to sit with her at lunch, but I couldn't help but find something off about her offer.

"Sorry, I'm sitting with my family today."

She raised an eyebrow, or tried to because the other one was pulled up too and made her look squinty. "Your family?" Was that unusual in school? Were we supposed to ignore each other or something?

"Yeah, my brother Lee and my sister Jesse." I said slowly, only getting more confused when she smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

"So, his name is Lee, huh?" She asked nonchalantly. I just said it was. Was there something wrong with her?

"Yes. Why?"

She just shook her head, still smiling. "Never mind. Maybe some other time."

I watched her walk away, feeling as though I had missed something important.

On my way to the cafeteria, I had to endure more staring, whispers which I could have heard miles away and one girl actually pointed at me. All of this was making me nervous, despite knowing that I had my ring on and the glamour was in full affect. Why was I such a big deal? I was looking forward to lunch because I knew that they would be more interested in my siblings than me, because of how I now looked.

Walking into the cafeteria, I spotted my siblings sitting at an empty table with trays of untouched food in front of them. Knowing that neither of them would eat it, I didn't bother to get my own. Waste not, want not.

I moved through the throng of students and sat down beside Jesse, who silently pushed her tray in front of me.

Deciding to skip the formalities, I went straight to business. "Did either of you know about the coven living here or did it surprise you as much as it did me?"

Jesse gave the surrounding room an uneasy glance, looking for the coven in question and responded quietly. "We had no idea. I called Micheal in between classes and he didn't know either. We're used to avoiding nomads, not vampires that live in a certain place for long periods of time. I guess none of us expected it."

Lee leaned forward, sliding his unopened soda towards me. "We had one of them during third period. A big guy called Emmet, and he seemed just as surprised, if not more so. Micheal thinks that we should be polite, but not give anything away. As you know, he has great respect for Carlisle Cullen, despite not seeing him for over two hundred years and he doesn't think that they'll tell _them _about you. Just to be on the safe side though, he wants us to be careful. You especially."

Feeling better now that I knew what the others thought of the situation, I opened my soda and took a long draught, waiting for the moment when they would enter the cafeteria.

It turns out that I didn't have to wait long.

I had just put the can down when I heard nearly-silent footsteps over the din of the students. The far door opened and in came five vampires.

They ignored the rest of the student body and as soon as they had gotten their food, they sat at the farthest table in the room.

My eyes were immediately drawn to Alice, the one Cullen that I had had contact with. Golden eyes met brown ones as she turned her gaze in my direction, which, for some reason, caused me to blush. I quickly surveyed the remaining members of her family.

Of the three boys, one was big, muscled like a serious weight-lifter, with dark, curly hair. From his size, I was betting that this one was Emmet. Another was taller, leaner and while he was not as muscular as Emmet, he still looked strong. He had honey-blond hair. The last was lanky, less muscled, with unruly, bronze-coloured hair. The remaining girl had long, blond hair that fell in waves down her back and looked stunning.

All of their eyes were focused on our table. The bronze-haired boy, the honey-blond boy and Alice all had frustrated looks on their faces.

Before either group could do anything, Jessica sauntered over to our table, focused solely on Lee, whose expression became annoyed.

"Hey there. I'm Jessica, Bella's friend." Wait, I only spoke to her once. I didn't even know her last name, how could we be friends?

Lee gave me a look that said he didn't believe her and proceeded to cross his arms and lean back in his chair.

"I was just wondering how you liked Forks and if there was anything that I could do to make your stay more...enjoyable?" She asked in a tone that was obviously meant to be seductive and was failing miserably.

Everything would have gone ok from then on, Lee would have turned her down gently and everyone would have been fine. Or, at least it would have been, had Jessica not pulled up a chair closer to Lee, and right in front of Jesse, blocking her from view and excluding her from the conversation.

The obvious insult to Jesse didn't sit well with Lee, who had no patience for people who insulted his family. Narrowing his eyes at her, he casually picked up the apple from his tray and began twirling it. "Something that could make my stay more enjoyable?" His voice became low and sultry and Jessica's breathing hitched when he leant towards her. Fully expecting a kiss, she angled her face upwards. Unfortunately for her, Lee had other ideas. When he was centimetres away from her lips, he said in that same low, sultry voice, "You could always stand up, walk back to your table, tell your friends I let you down easy and never bother me again."

Jessica's eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in anger. "Whatever, you're not worth it anyway." Standing up in a huff, she stalked back to her table, trying to retain as much dignity as possible and once again failing miserably.

Chuckling, Lee put his apple back on his tray and started humming to himself, satisfied. Jesse on the other hand, burst out laughing. "Did you see the look on her face? That was fantastic!"

Glancing back at the Cullens, I see that they are all still looking in our direction, but now they have small smiles on their faces. Obviously they don't like Jessica either. As soon as they see me watching, their smiles turn to curious looks, still trying to figure me out.

Sighing, I turned back to my table and start eating my lunch, which consisted of a salad with rather flaccid lettuce a bottle of lemonade.

Just as I was finished, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch and the beginning of more classes.

Lee turned to me before I could stand up. "We'll see you at the end of school. Be careful." His eyes flicked to the Cullen's table to tell me just who I ought to be careful of. As if I didn't already know.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, I can handle myself." Giving them both a reassuring smile, I began walking to my next class, which was biology.

I had always found this subject interesting when Clare was teaching me at home but I highly doubted that this school had the basic biology of the average vampire. I suppose photosynthesis would have to suffice.

When I entered the classroom, I quickly noticed that there was only one free seat left and it was next to Edward Cullen.

Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book, telling me to sit next to 'the Cullen boy'.

As soon as I was seated, Mr. Banner began talking about what he was going to be covering this year. I had taken down the skeleton, the heart and the vascular system when Edward asked me in a low voice, "What are you?"

The pen in my hand jerked, gouging a hole in my notebook. I really hadn't expected him to outright ask me. Maybe drop some subtle hints and try and weasel it out of me, not just come right out and ask.

Seeing my startled expression, he continued, "I know that was rude, but my family and I are very curious and considering that you already seem to know about us, we just thought that it would be fair to level the playing field."

Fear spiked in my stomach. The last time a vampire had found out about me he had attempted to go to the Volturi with the information. My family had only just managed to stop him and since then, we had avoided other vampires.

"I'm truly sorry if this is making you or your family uncomfortable, but I'm sure that you understand my reluctance." I was really hoping that he would just let it go.

"I do. However, it is extremely rare for my family to meet other vampires who adhere to our diet and we would really like to get to know you and your family. We will not pry into your nature, I promise, but my father, Carlisle, is very eager to meet all of you."

I thought about this for a second. They seemed like a nice family, from what little I'd seen of them but telling them would just be putting them in danger. If the Volturi ever found out, which I believed was inevitable; any vampire that had failed to tell them of a new supernatural creature would be in trouble. My father Micheal used to work for them, something that he was not proud of. It was actually where he met Carlisle and was so impressed by him, that he changed his lifestyle and left. He knew Aro and he also knew that if Aro found out about me, it would be bad. My thoughts went to Alice for some reason and I knew that keeping it from them was a good idea.

Sighing, I turned to look at him, "I'm sorry, but I just don't think that that's possible right now." Edward looked genuinely regretful and began paying attention to the teacher.

As soon as the class was over, I grabbed my bag and left, head down.

The rest of the day was spent trying to distract myself from my thoughts of the Cullens, which was a lot harder than it sounded.

By the time the day was ended, I basically jogged out to the car, eager to be home.

Lee and Jesse were already waiting for me and I wasted no time getting in. However, while Jesse was pulling out of the parking lot, I found myself once again staring into the eyes of Alice Cullen. Our eyes stayed locked together until she disappeared from view and the entire ride home I kept thinking of reasons why I couldn't tell them.

The moment the car was in our driveway, I pulled open the door and shot out, shouting over my shoulder, "I'll be back in an hour." Knowing full well what I needed to do, my siblings merely nodded in response.

I ran into the forest surrounding our house, easily as fast as a vampire, enjoying the feel of the wind whipping past my face. I needed to go faster than this and there was only one way to do that.

Pulling off my jacket until I was left in my shirt, which had carefully concealed slits in the back, I quickly willed my wings to unfurl. My ring may have been able to shield my appearance and make the tattoos on my back disappear, but when my wings came out, the glamour dissolved, revealing my true appearance whether I was wearing my ring or not.

To anyone standing beside me, it would look as though a mass of tiny, dark blue lights were flowing from my back. In another moment, they would see that those lights coalesced to form two, large, snow-white wings.

Bending my legs, I shot upward into the air, going faster than the human eye could see but, for some reason, my thoughts kept going back to a tiny vampire called Alice Cullen.

**A/N: Well, I hoped that that was ok. I tried to make it extra long for those who asked. Also, for everyone out there who asked questions, like SaneTwin1-2, all will be revealed soon. R&R.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The next chapter will be in Alice's point of view and I'm really nervous about it. If I do a bad job, I won't be offended if you tell me so.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the van Allen's, excluding Bella.**

APOV

I was sitting in the huge oak tree just outside of our house when it happened again. It had been happening for the past few weeks and I still didn't understand why. Instead of my usual visions, I had been getting this _feeling_, like something big was about to happen and no matter how hard I tried or what I focused on, it was all I could get.

Sighing, I jumped from the tree, landing gracefully on the ground, twenty feet below and began walking into the house to get ready for the first day of school.

After so many years and so many repeated academic ventures, everything always ran smoothly, we always knew what to expect and we planned accordingly. This year, however, it was different. We could no longer depend on my visions to inform us of problems we would have and it was making all of us nervous.

Walking inside, I glanced at the clock hanging above the living-room door. It was only 7:30am and we still had plenty of time but for some reason, I was eager to get to school today, which in itself was a strange occurrence. It's not that I disliked school per se; I usually had no feelings towards it either way. But it could get rather monotonous.

"Good morning, Alice. How are you feeling?" my adoptive mother, Esme, asked me in a worried tone. For the past few weeks, everyone had been walking on eggshells around me. They all knew how much I depended on my visions and they correctly assumed that this was uncomfortable for me. What they didn't realise, however, was that I also found it exciting. Not the fact that there might be something wrong with me, but after so many years of knowing exactly what was coming next, not knowing was...refreshing.

"Really, Esme, I'm fine. You and all the others can stop worrying so much. Carlisle thinks that it's because I'm living in such close proximity to the wolves for an extended period of time. If that's the case, then the next time we move, they'll come back." I tried not to let it show how much it bothered me. Being blind to the future might be interesting for a few weeks, but if we left and my visions didn't come back, then I'd be terrified.

I smiled my well-known cheery smile to dissuade her fears and she smiled back at me.

Feeling better, I tried to hurry my siblings up. If I was impartial to school, they hated it. Then again, I could find entertainment in any kind of situation. "Come on guys, first day again! We don't want to be late."

Rosalie came gliding down the stairs, Emmet hot on her tail. "God forbid we would be late for something we've done countless times before." Her voice held all of the contempt that she felt for the education system.

Jasper chuckled as he walked into the room. "Come now, Rosalie, you know you enjoy lording your superior beauty over the humans."

Emmet grinned over his mates head. "Yeah, and you know I love having all of them know that my girlfriend is a goddess. Gives me a whole load of cool points."

Looking around, I noticed that a certain bronze-haired bother of mine wasn't present. "Where is Edward? Just once, I'd like to go to school without having to start a man-hunt."

Sill grinning, Emmet wrapped his arm around Rosalie's waist. "You know how Eddie is when it comes to school. Besides, I think he's afraid that today will be the day that Jessica finally corners him."

Rosalie leaned into her mate, a disgusted look on her face just thinking about Jessica. "I don't know why he doesn't just tell that odious girl that he's not interested and to leave him alone."

I smiled, thinking of all the times that the 'odious girl' had ignored Edward's subtle hints and thrown herself at him. "Edward refuses to get with the times. He still can't be rude to a 'lady', regardless of how un-lady-like she is."

"Well, I'm sick of her coming up to our table. If he doesn't tell her soon, then I will." Turning on her heel, she walked out to the car with Emmet on her arm.

Jasper snickered and followed them both out. "I'd pay good money to see that."

Edward chose that very moment to appear. Upon hearing the previous conversation in my head, he turned to look at me. "If Rosalie could do that, I'd be forever in her debt. I just..I can't take it anymore. I'm afraid that I might say something..."

"Unbefitting of a gentleman?" I supplied, thoroughly amused by the expression on his face.

"Exactly." Still lost in thought, he began walking to the garage, quickly followed by me.

Despite the fact that Emmet was about three times my size, I always got the front seat. All I had to do was pull the 'puppy-dog-look', and any one of my family members would cave, even Rosalie.

Hearing my thoughts, Edward gave me a look that said 'you're evil', and pulled into the parking lot. We were early, so only a few cars were present.

For some reason feeling excited, I turned to look at my siblings. "So, what do you think the new students are gonna be like?" The fact that there was a new family in Forks, the Van Allen's, was the talk of the entire town.

"Alice, you've been spending way too much time with teenage humans. You're beginning to gossip as much as they do. Besides, it's just a few new students, nothing we haven't seen before." Rosalie stated in an impartial voice. Clearly the thought of new students didn't pique her interest at all.

Grinning, I looked at her. "But that's the thing, we haven't seen this before. Or, at least, I haven't. These people are completely new to me, no visions to tell whether or not they have any kind of fashion sense," Edward rolled his eyes, which I ignored, "Or what they're like. I'll have to see for myself for once. Can you blame me for being a tad excited?"

Come to think of it, this will be the first time that I'll have to have a conversation with a human without knowing what they'll say next. At Edwards look, I quickly amended. Not that I'd be starting a conversation with them or anything, but if they said hi, then I'd ask how they like Forks. In which case, I'd get to wait for their answer instead of already knowing what it was going to be.

Edwards gaze softened in understanding as he got out of the car, walking around to my side to open it for me. Always the perfect gentleman.

Looking around the parking lot again, I sighed in disappointment. "They're not here yet."

Rosalie scoffed at my earnest attitude. "Whatever, I'll see you guys at lunch." Emmet waved as he followed her into the school building, both of them being bombarded with the stares of the students in their visual field.

Feeling a wave of optimism, I looked at Jasper, who smiled at me before walking off after Emmet and Rosalie.

Taking in a deep lungful of air and letting it out slowly, Edward started walking forward, with me falling into step beside him. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, Alice. What's your first class?"

Still feeling Jasper's wave of optimism, I answered immediately. "English, room 3 with Mr. Mason. You?"

"I have Ms. Francis, room 6. I guess I'll see you third period, we both have French."

"Sure, I'll see you then. Maybe there'll be one of the new students in my class." I added hopefully to Edwards retreating back, to which he waved over his shoulder.

On my way to room 3, I couldn't help but feel like something weird was about to happen. I may not have been having my full visions, but whenever I got a feeling about something, it always turned out to be right, no matter what.

Giving Mr. Mason a bright smile I went to sit down at the back of the classroom, noticing that the rest of the students had materialised from somewhere. I couldn't help but find the high-backed chairs uncomfortable, and I was a vampire that could stand still for hours. How the humans do it I'll never know.

I was still thinking about the ridiculous chairs when I heard footsteps that were way too quiet to be normal, they were almost silent, even to my sensitive ears.

Pulling my head up from where I had been staring at the hard-topped table, I looked to the front of the room and could feel my bland expression morph into one of shock.

The girl that walked into the room and gave Mr. Mason her slip was _not _human. The first clue I got were the footsteps, the next was the fact that her heart was beating so low that if she were human, she would be in a coma, or soon-to-be-dead. The final clue that I got was her scent. It was, to put it simply, stunning. Despite this, I felt absolutely no urge to drain her, no burn in the back of my throat. She wasn't a vampire and she was definitely not a werewolf. Did this mean, as Carlisle suspected but could never prove, that there were other kinds of supernatural creatures in the world? If this was the case and she was one of them, then he'd be ecstatic.

It was then that I noticed that the feeling I had been getting for the past few weeks had suddenly intensified. The thing, or should I say person, that I had been anticipating was now standing right in front of me and I had no idea what to do. I almost didn't notice Mr. Mason tell her to sit next to me.

Why was I so certain that my _feelings _pertained to her? Did this mean that it wasn't the wolves that had been affecting my visions, but her? What was she? Was she a threat?

All of these thoughts were running through my head, when she looked up with a shocked expression on her face, which on closer inspection turned out to be beautiful. She had large, brown eyes that seemed to convey innocence along with shock. Her long, mahogany hair fell in waves down her shoulders and her skin was almost as pale as a vampire's.

She seemed to unfreeze and began walking towards me. When she passed me and sat down, I couldn't help but gasp as her scent enveloped me. It was beautiful. I couldn't help but stare at her and when she looked at me from the depths of her hair she blushed and looked away.

Mr. Mason began his lecture and I felt compelled to get to know this girl, not just to figure out what she was and if she was a threat, because my instincts were telling me that, while she could be if she wanted to, she wouldn't, but also because I was curious about her and why I felt that she was important.

Leaning towards her, I started with something simple. "Hi, I'm Alice Cullen and you must be Isabella Van Allen. It's nice to meet you." Maybe I should have let her introduce herself. I only knew her name because there were meant to be three teenagers in the family and Isabella was the only junior.

"Yeah, that's me, but I prefer Bella. It's nice to meet you too." Her voice sounded slightly disinterested. I knew that she must be nervous about talking with other people because she had a secret. My family and I had to do the same thing. I'd just have to persist and hope that eventually, she wouldn't be so tense around me.

"So, how are you liking Forks so far, Bella?" Internally I groaned. Like she hasn't been asked _that _question already.

When she replied, her tone was slightly angry, which surprised me. "There are some things that I could do without." Was I annoying her? I couldn't help the flash of hurt that crossed my face. She quickly continued. "The rain, for example, it's way too wet here." Oh, so it wasn't me.

Smiling a relieved smile that I hoped she missed, I continued our conversation. "Really? Personally I like the rain. I think it's beautiful."

Mr. Mason chose that moment to notice us. "Well, it's nice to see that you are making friends, Ms. Van Allen, but could you please do it outside of my classroom? That goes for you too, Ms. Cullen." Suppressing a growl at the interruption, I paid attention to the rest of the class, all too aware of Bella sitting beside me.

It wasn't long until that damn bell rang and my first chance to get to know this girl was gone. Soon, however, I noticed that I wasn't the only person trying to make a new friend. Not that I was trying to be friends with her. Or was I? No, of course not, that was ridiculous. I was only trying to be polite and ensure that she wasn't a threat to my family.

A guy that I could only describe as the 'chess-club' type, leaned across the aisle towards Bella, giving me a look as though he thought that I was going to eat him. Luckily for him, I wasn't hungry and, of course, I had morals.

"Hey, I'm Eric. You're Isabella van Allen, aren't you?" Bella seemed confused by this statement/question for some reason.

"Bella," She corrected him, almost blushing again when people turned around to stare. She sure blushed a lot.

"Where's your next class?" He asked, obviously trying to find an opportunity to hit on her. This annoyed me. She was new and not even human, she didn't need this kind of hassle.

I found myself curious about what her next class was and I slowed down my packing. If we had the same class, maybe I could talk to her some more.

"Government, with Jefferson, in building six," She responded immediately, much like I had with Edward this morning. A flash of disappointment went through me. I'd missed my chance this round, but next time, I'd get her to talk to me if I had to tie her to a chair, which would be stupid considering that I didn't yet know what she was.

Standing up, I turned to face her, hiding my disappointment. "Looks like we won't be sharing the next class. Well, it was nice meeting you, Bella. I'll see you around." With that, I walked out of the classroom, past the shocked faces of the other students. God, it's not like I'm never nice or anything.

As I was about to leave the room, I heard Eric say that it was only because she was new that I was being nice. I cringed. I didn't want people to be telling her bad things about me, I wanted to make my own impression.

The moment I thought that, I could have kicked myself. If I knew that _she_ wasn't human, then maybe she knew that _I _wasn't human either. What if she'd met others of my kind before? Maybe that was why she seemed so tense. What if she was afraid of me? For some reason, that line of thought bothered me. I didn't want her to be afraid of me. Or maybe I had gotten it all wrong, maybe she didn't know what I was and she wasn't afraid of me. In which case, she would eventually find out. That wasn't possible. I couldn't reveal my family's secret. Then what was I supposed to do?

Ignoring the rest of their conversation, I went to my next class, barely paying any attention to the teacher, who stopped trying after I ignored her third question.

I didn't begin focusing until third period French, the class that I shared with Edward. As soon as I was in the door, I began relaying what had happened to him, via his telepathy. We sat on opposite sides of the room, but I could easily see the widening of his eyes, the slight parting of his lips that conveyed his surprise. Raising his hand, he spoke to Ms. Francis in a honey-sweet voice. "Ma'am, I'm not feeling very well, may I please be excused?"

She looked at him with a worried expression on her face. It was well known that none of the Cullen kids ever got sick, something that the humans attributed to the fact that our father was a doctor. "Do you need to see the nurse?"

Smiling at her slightly he responded quietly, "No, I just need some fresh air and I'll be fine."

She agreed, watching as he stood up and walked out of the room. Knowing full well that he intended to call Carlisle to inform him of the situation, I was able to relax and pay some attention to the teacher. Hopefully, Carlisle would know what to do.

Edward didn't return for the rest of the class and I didn't see him again until I heard him call me over to him in the hall, before we entered the cafeteria. Jasper, Rosalie and Emmet were with him, wearing identical confused expressions.

As soon as I reached him, he spoke in a quiet whisper. "That girl, Bella, isn't the only news. Rosalie had class with two new vegetarian vampires," At my gasp, he continued, "I called Carlisle and he has no idea what Bella is, but she knows about us considering the fact that the two vampires are her siblings." Her siblings? Bella lived with vampires?

Edward glanced around him uneasily. "Yes. Carlisle thinks that we should do our best to figure out what she is, but not pry. He actually wants to meet these vampires and he is quiet curious about what Bella could be."

He wanted to meet them? I looked over at Rosalie, surprised that she had not protested to this. Seeing my glance, she scoffed. "I know what you're thinking and no, I don't approve but what other choice do we have? It's not like we meet other vegetarian vampires often, not to mention new species, it would be impossible to dissuade Carlisle." That was true. The very notion of new discoveries excited our adoptive father to no end.

Edward turned to her once again. "As it turns out, I have a class with Bella. Carlisle suggested asking her straight out what she was and offering relations between our families."

I stared at him. "Just ask her straight out? Just like that?"

"She does live with vampires and while it may be a small chance, she and her family could be eager to meet another vegetarian vampire coven, in which case, I'm sure we will eventually find out. Now, however, it's time for lunch. Rose, Jasper and Emmet have yet to see her and they want to." I could see that from the looks on their faces, all of which were trained on the door to the cafeteria.

"Before I forget, those feelings that I've been getting the past few weeks, I'm certain that they relate to her."

They all looked at me and it was Jasper who spoke. "We should tell Carlisle about this as soon as we can."

The others agreed and we all began walking at the same time; decades of living together meant that we could basically communicate without talking. Being highly sensitive vampires didn't hurt either.

Pushing the doors open, we tried our best to ignore the student population and only looked for Bella and her siblings when we had sat down with our trays of useless food in front of us.

Turning, I found her and her family sitting at an empty table. Just as I focused on Bella, she turned and met my eyes. Once again, she blushed and looked at the other members of my family, who were all looking at her table curiously.

Wondering if close proximity would help, I tried to get a vision, feeling frustrated when I failed. I noticed that both Edward and Jasper had identical looks of frustration on their faces. Did that mean that their powers failed to work on this family also? Glancing in my direction, Edward nodded slightly, confirming my theory. One of the vampires must have had a powerful shielding ability. Or, it could be Bella.

Before anything else could happen, the 'odious girl', also known as Jessica, detached herself from her friends and made a bee-line for the Van Allen table, particularly the dark-haired male, whose name I remembered was Lee.

Internally sighing at what was about to happen and feeling sorry for the vampire who was about to replace Edward regarding Jessica's affections, I gave the table my full attention.

Despite being the entire room away, Jessica's annoying voice reached our table clearly. "Hey there. I'm Jessica, Bella's friend." From the surprised look on Bella's face, it was obvious that this was news to her.

Lee crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, waiting.

Jessica continued in a voice that said she was trying to be seductive and was way off the mark. "I was just wondering how you liked Fork and if there was anything that I could do to make your stay more...enjoyable?" Why don't you just jump on him? From the corner of my eye, I could see the disgusted look on Rosalie's face. Obviously I wasn't the only one who found this girl ridiculous.

Pulling up a chair closer to him, Jessica sat down right in front of the red-headed vampire, whose name was Jesse, if my information was correct.

Suddenly, Lee's entire countenance changed and his eyes narrowed dangerously. He obviously didn't like the insult directed at his sister, or were they mated?

He picked up the apple from his tray and began twirling it. "Something that could make my stay more enjoyable?" His voice was low and sultry and the poor human's heart rate picked up. He leaned towards her in a motion similar to a kiss, but when he was almost close enough to make contact, he said in a low voice, "You could always stand up, walk back to your table, tell your friends I let you down easy and never bother me again."

Everyone at our table stared in shock, then had to quickly suppress laughter at the expression on Jessica's face. Her voice was biting when she spoke again. "Whatever, you're not worth it anyway."

As soon as she had stormed off, Lee immediately started chuckling, while his sister broke out in laughter. "Did you see the look on her face? That was fantastic!"

Despite the situation, I couldn't help but smile along with my family, but when Bella looked over at us, our expressions turned curious as our thoughts once again returned to the mystery of what she was.

She sighed and turned back to her lunch, seemingly occupied with this until the bell rang.

Before she could stand up however, her brother turned to her. "We'll see you at the end of school. Be careful." His eyes flicked to our table, untrusting. I suppose I couldn't blame him for wanting to protect his sister but it still annoyed me. I had no intention of hurting her.

Her reply, when it came, was reassuring. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, I can handle myself." With that slightly unnerving statement, she smiled at the both of them and left the cafeteria.

Edward sighed and stood up. "Wish me luck."

Before he left, I gave him a look that said 'Don't you dare scare her off', watching as he went off to biology and his conversation with Bella.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I had no more classes with Edward so I had to wait until school was over to get any information on how it went. At that moment, having no visions was just plain annoying.

By the time the final bell rang, I shot out to our car in anticipation. Everyone was already waiting, Edward with a pensive look on his face.

I was about to unleash a whole barrage of questions when a sleek, crimson Toyota pulled out of the parking lot. As it was passing, my eyes once again locked with Bella's and didn't disengage until her car disappeared from view.

Quickly getting in the Volvo, we waited patiently until Edward had cleared the parking lot, then went at it.

"Well, how'd it go?"

"Did you find out what she is?"

"What did she say to you?"

"Did you even get the chance to talk to her?"

Holding up his hand for silence, Edward answered our questions. "Firstly, yes I got the chance to talk to her, seeing as she's my lab partner. I didn't find out what she is, but she was extremely polite in turning down my questions. She doesn't think that it would be a good idea for our families to interact right now."

Seizing the opportunity to speak, I quickly jumped in. "'Right now', does that mean that it would be possible in the future"

Edward thought about that for a moment. "I honestly don't know, we'll have to talk to Carlisle."

Silently agreeing, I waited until we pulled into our driveway and then got out of the car, informing the rest of them that I was going to hunt.

As soon as I heard their affirmations and got Edwards promise that he would tell me whatever happened, I ran into the forest surrounding our house, while my thoughts kept returning to Isabella Van Allen.

What are you?

**A/N: Okay, *gasp*, that took a long time. I have a new kitten and he keeps attacking the keys.**

**Anyhoo, please tell me what you think of my first attempt at writing Alice, I'm not sure if I pulled it off or not. R&R.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Once again, thank you all for the reviews. I'll try and keep my updates frequent but I have to go to the bog this summer *groan* and it's taking up a lot of my time.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella.**

BPOV

There is no single word, or even entire paragraph, that could describe the thrill of flying. When you're up in the air, you're weightless, free. The closest thing that a human can experience is skydiving, but even that pales in comparison to the real thing. When you're skydiving, you're falling. You can't go higher or swoop low to the ground, only to pull yourself back up at the last second. All you can do is fall.

When I'm up here, soaring through the clouds, I don't have to worry about not fitting in, about never finding another person like me, because when I'm up here, I do feel like I belong. I was built to fly. I'm much lighter than a human my size, roughly seventy pounds. My eyes aren't bothered by the particles in the air that are whipping by so fast, that they would scar the cornea of a human. My vision is so sharp that I can see everything on the ground, despite being miles above it.

It was that superior vision that allowed me to see her.

I had been flying over the forest under the cover of clouds, absentmindedly thinking about the last vampires that we had encountered, when I spotted a small, white shape moving through the forest at too fast a pace to be anything other than a vampire. I knew that my family wouldn't be out this far, not with another coven so close by. That left only the Cullen's.

After a small internal battle between my common sense and my curiosity, my curiosity won. Tipping my left wing down, I began descending in a wide circle, only enough to get a better view, but not enough to break away from the cloud cover.

I caught sight of the vampire in a clearing just up ahead and I could now tell that it was Alice, her small form and shock of black hair giving her away. Immediately recognising her stance, I realised that she was hunting. I had seen my family hunt many times before, but I still found myself fascinated by her lithe movements. As I watched, she set her sights on a nearby mountain lion and took it down without preamble, breaking its neck before biting it. Did that mean that her favourite food was mountain lion? I knew that each vampire had their own preferences, just like Lee had wolf, Micheal had elk, Clare had black bears and Jesse, strangely enough, had squirrel, not that it was that filling, but she loved the taste.

Suddenly feeling as though I were intruding on a private moment, I quickly found an updraft and glided higher into the clouds. The air up here was freezing, but I was in no danger from hypothermia. No matter what temperatures I was exposed to, I always remained comfortable, which really came in handy when you were flying sub-zero.

Manoeuvring my wings into position, I executed a sharp turn, heading back to my house.

Moving fast, it only took me about two minutes to reach home, where I quickly landed and tucked in my wings. It probably looked strange from an outside point of view, two huge, white wings dematerializing into dark blue lights, then seemingly flowing into my back, where they appeared as dark blue tattoos if I had my ring off. Then again, I'm a very strange individual.

Walking into my rather large house, I found my entire family sitting in the living room. I went in and took my seat beside Jesse, wanting to know what had gone on in my absence.

Micheal turned in his seat to face me. "How are you feeling, Bella?"

"Dad, really, I'm fine. It's not like they attacked me or anything, I honestly don't know why you look so worried."

He sighed. "I'm sorry; it's just that your experiences with other vampires haven't exactly been pleasant." I winced slightly, remembering the last time.

"Seriously I'm fine." And I was; I knew that we weren't in any danger from the Cullen's and I knew that Micheal believed that too.

"Well, as we already agreed, I think that it would be best if we kept our distance from the Cullen's for the foreseeable future. It would only take one touch from Aro and he would know all about you and while you may be able to protect all of us from other vampire powers we have no way of knowing whether or not you can shield that many people, even if they're countries away. The more people who know, the more difficult it is to keep a secret. It's just too risky."

Knowing he was right, I merely nodded.

The dismal atmosphere was broken when we all heard a loud meow. Sanderson sauntered in, butting his head against my leg for attention. Smiling, I bent down and picked him up. "Hello to you too. Would you like some food? Yes you would like some food."

Seeing the amused looks I was getting from the rest of my family, I turned to them. "Don't you laugh at me. I've heard all of you do the same thing, so shut up." The amused expressions turned into embarrassed ones and I went into the kitchen to find my cat some kibble.

The next morning turned out to be a pretty pleasant one and I would have been looking forward to school if it weren't for two things; firstly, I had to ignore five vampires and secondly, I had gym.

While I absolutely loved sports with my family, I had never played with humans before and I'd have to be extra careful. According to Jesse and Lee, playing sports with humans was boring. They were too slow, didn't have even slightly good reflexes and couldn't hit the ball far enough, all of which I noticed during my first gym class.

Unfortunately for me, Alice was also in my first gym class and she was even on my team. This meant that ignoring her was difficult, as throughout the game, she asked me many questions when we had a brief respite from the rigours of volleyball.

"So, Bella, what kind of sports do you like?" Her voice was genuinely curious and despite my 'ignore the Cullen's' rule, I had never been able to be rude to someone for no reason and completely ignoring her would be very rude.

"Um, I guess baseball is ok." There, that was informative, yet distant. She might just drop it.

Whacking the ball over the net once again, she turned slightly to face me, a huge grin on her face. "My family and I _love_ baseball. It's a great sport, I think. And I love those uniforms, especially when I alter them myself. Speaking of, do you like shopping? I love shopping; it's like a sport all on its own." All I said was that baseball was ok, how did she manage to say so much and then end up at shopping?

"No." Now I'll go with one-word answers. She can't get anything from that.

"Really? Why not? It's so much fun. But if you don't like shopping, then how about drawing or painting?"Her expression was hopeful and I couldn't deny that I loved doing both.

It was only when I was on my way out of gym, after having an in depth discussion with Alice regarding our favourite subject matter, that I realised that ignoring her was going to be way more difficult than it seemed. I was shocked to realise that I enjoyed talking with her and resolved to avoid her at all costs because ignoring her when she was near me was impossible.

This day wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday. I even met some nice people, like Angela, who unfortunately hung around with Jessica. She was really nice and we hit it off as soon as we started talking. I wonder if Angela was the only nice person in my class, besides Alice? No, don't think about Alice, she must be ignored.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't notice a baby-faced boy, with pale blond hair walking in my direction.

"Aren't you Isabella Van Allen?" He asked in slightly high-pitched voice. Exactly how many new, junior girls were there in Forks?

"Bella," I corrected yet another student, absently wondering whether or not I should get a sign.

"I'm Mike; it's nice to meet you." He continued in a friendly voice.

"Likewise."

"So, I was thinking that maybe we could hang out some time? Maybe go to a movie or something? What do you say?" His voice was hopeful, but also had the confidence of someone who expected to receive an affirmative answer. Was this what Jesse warned me about? Was he hitting on me? How was I supposed to tell?

The confident smirk on his face settled it and I said as politely as I could. "Sorry, Mike, I'm, um, going to be really busy for the next couple of weeks, so I won't be able to make it." I'm bad at this.

His smirk faltered, then came back full wattage. "No problem, I'll just wait a few weeks until you're not so busy. See you around." He walked off to his next class, leaving me wondering what had just happened.

It wasn't long until lunch and, like yesterday, I didn't get my own food, choosing to steal my siblings' instead.

Lee looked up from where he had been carving his name into an apple. "Hey, Bells. How'd gym go?" Whether or not I'd injure someone had been the subject of much debate and betting between Lee and Jesse over the past few days, much to my annoyance.

I scowled at him. "It went fine, but if mom hadn't helped me practice, then it would have gone very badly." From the corner of my eye I could see Jesse smirking at Lee and rubbing her fingers together in a 'pay-up' gesture. At least I know which way she bet.

"Also, I can't be certain, but I think that some guy hit on me." The apple in Lee's hand split in half and his head came up sharply. I quickly continued. "At least I think he did."

After I had relayed the incident to Jesse, she looked at me with an almost proud expression on her face. "Wow, you're first admirer that had the nerve to talk to you. Although, he could've done a better job."

Lee stared at her. "There's no need for him to have done better. He's probably slime anyway." I didn't listen to Jesse's reply as my thoughts were on something else.

Despite my best efforts, I was all too aware of the Cullens sitting on the other side of the room. Ignoring them, especially Alice, was going to be tough, but I'd do it, starting today.

APOV

I had thought that I was finally making some headway with Bella. We even had a great conversation during gym class and I knew that she had enjoyed talking to me. So when she suddenly started ignoring me, to say I was shocked would be an understatement. a

It started off as small things. Our already brief conversations were getting briefer; her friendly smiles became more distant, until eventually, she began going out of her way to avoid me, choosing longer, convoluted paths so that she wouldn't run into me.

In one sense, I could understand her behaviour, she was just trying to protect her secret, but it still hurt slightly. Despite having only known her for about two weeks, most of which she spent avoiding me, I found myself wanting to know more about her, to become her friend.

Edward, of course, had to be sitting beside me when I thought this.

"Alice, we don't even know what she is. She could be dangerous."

I pouted at him. "When Carlisle wanted to get to know them, you were on board. How is this any different?"

He sighed, putting the book he was reading down. "That was when it was the entire family and we all would have been there. This is just you and you know that you wouldn't feel this trusting towards her if it weren't for those feelings you've been getting instead of your visions."

"Then let's try together, as a family." I knew that he was right about those feelings, but even without them, I would've trusted her.

"Maybe someday Alice, but for now, we have to give them time." Picking up his book, he exited the room, smiling at me before he passed the door.

That was how it went for about three weeks. Bella and her family avoiding us and me complaining to my family at home. I'll admit that I paid attention to some of her conversations. She had gotten pretty close to Angela Webber. Both she and Jessica were going to Port Angeles on Saturday and Angela had invited Bella. Much to Jessica's annoyance, Bella had agreed.

I had made a few more attempts at getting Bella talking to me and when I finally decided to outright confront her, something that, had I had my visions, I could have prevented.

It was a cold day, the first snowfall of the year littered the ground and ice was just as abundant.

I saw Bella exit the school building with her head down and her backpack slung over her shoulder. Her siblings weren't at their car yet, so as she was walking, I quickly said to my family, who were about to get in our car, "I'll be back in a sec," and made my way towards her, ignoring their protests.

I was only halfway to her when her head snapped in my direction. Her eyes widened and she quickened her pace.

"Bella, wait. I just want to talk for a second, that's all." Surprisingly, she did.

Seemingly steeling herself, she turned to face me. "We have nothing to talk about, Alice."

My family were only about ten meters behind us, so they could hear our conversation clearly. Edward had a disapproving look on his face.

I sighed, "Look, Bella. I know that you enjoyed talking to me and I only want to know why you're acting this way. If it's because of your secret, I promise that I won't pry, not until you're ready."

Her voice was soft when she spoke next. "That's just it. It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that it would be a terrible idea."

"Well, how about-," My next words were cut off by the screeching of tires on ice. Both Bella and I wheeled around, to see a blue van skidding on the ice, right towards a girl standing in its path.

I was still frozen in shock, not used to big surprises, when the girl threw herself out of the way of the oncoming vehicle. The van slammed into the rusted red truck that the girl was standing in front of. That was when the screaming started.

It was about two seconds before I smelled the blood, coming from the arm of the girl, who had landed on it awkwardly. The scent hit me full on and I had to stop breathing.

Unfortunately, Jasper didn't have the control I did.

I heard his growl before I managed to turn in time to see him break away from my siblings and go straight for the girl.

My brain was in overdrive. I knew that he would have to pass me to get to her, but I also knew that I wasn't strong enough to stop him. He was moving fast enough to alert the humans to our presence, but thankfully, they only had eyes for the crash.

I braced myself for the moment when Jasper would collide with me, but when he was bout a meter away, Bella shot forward and put her hand on his bare neck.

Jaspers reaction was instantaneous. He jerked to a stop, his eyes, which had been clouded with thirst, cleared and conscious thought returned to them. The growling coming from deep within his chest stopped and he straightened up from his hunting crouch.

I watched in astonishment as he went from vicious hunter to sane individual in less than a second. His eyes snapped to Bella, who still had her hand on his neck, and they widened in shock and gratitude. He may not have known exactly what happened, but he knew that Bella had stopped him from killing a human. From the stunned looks on my families faces, they realised this too.

Edward stepped forward and was about to say something when Bella cut him off. "Don't say or ask anything. Please." Her voice was pleading, almost desperate and it stopped him from saying whatever he was planning.

Bella glanced at Jasper and gently removed her hand. Before she could step away, however, he gasped and his hand flashed out and caught hers. "Could you please wait for a moment longer? Just until I get into our car."

She nodded solemnly and walked with him, hand in hand, until they reached the Volvo, where she let go of him and he quickly got into the car.

As she was walking away, past the ambulance that had just arrived, Jasper called out to her in a soft voice. "Thank you."

She turned around long enough to meet his eyes and nod once, before going to her own car, where her brother and sister now waited, worried looks on their faces.

We hurriedly got into our own car and drove out of the parking lot as fast as possible.

As soon as we hit the road, Rosalie looked at Jasper. "What happened? One second you're in the grip of the thirst and the next, you're perfectly fine."

I knew that Jasper would be feeling guilty over what he'd almost done, so it was no surprise when his voice came out subdued, but also slightly awed. "I don't know. As soon as she touched me, the thirst was gone, there was no burn in my throat and I was in complete control. When she took her hand away, it all came flooding back."

How was this possible? What was Bella that she could completely remove a vampire's thirst? How powerful was she? Could she remove a vampire's other impulses?

That evening when we informed Carlisle and Esme of the incident at school, we were no closer to figuring it out.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm really sorry about not updating. You can blame the bog and an over-excited kitten.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella.**

BPOV

I'd used one of my powers in front of the Cullen's. I'd used one of my powers in front of Alice. I'd used one of my powers _on _her brother.

But what was I supposed to do? Jasper was going to kill that girl if I didn't do something, I couldn't just let that happen.

What if they find out?

Of course they won't find out, it wasn't like I hung a neon sign over my head that said 'Hey look, I'm a-'

"Bella. Bella are you ok?" The concerned voice of my sister broke me out of my thoughts.

We were still in the car after driving out of the parking lot. The leather seats felt warm under me, heating up from my high body temperature. The air smelled like oranges. It wasn't the air-freshener that humans used, which smelled like chemicals to our noses, but actual oranges, courtesy of Jesse squeezing thirty-five oranges inside the car to get that tangy smell. It was then down to me to drink the juice.

I could see Lee's eyes in the over-head mirror looking at me, worried.

"I'm fine. I'm good. Happy as a clam," I said back to them. Maybe a clam that was about to be thrown in the pot.

Lee finally turned his eyes back to the road. "It's okay, Bella. There's no way that they can tell what you are by that...incident." His voice was confident and it helped to calm some of my fears.

"I know, I know. It's just that it was such a close call. The humans could have seen him and then we would have been in a lot of trouble."

Jesse gave a relieved sigh and wrapped an arm around me. Both of us had dove into the back, for once avoiding the usual fight over who gets the front seat. "Bella, I'm really proud of you. Not only did you save that girl, but you protected our secret. I'm positive that Clare and Micheal will feel the same way."

As it turned out, they did feel the same way.

Both of them were sitting at the kitchen table and I had just finished telling them what had happened.

Clare stood up and hugged me. "Oh, Bella. Jesse's right, we _are _proud of you."

Micheal stood up also and came over to me, a smile on his face. "You did the right thing and you saved someone's life in the process."

At this point, I was blushing. "All I did was stop his thirst. It's not like I jumped in front of the van or anything."

Micheal grinned. "You could've done that too, if you wanted."

Clare gave him a look, and turned me to face her. "It doesn't matter what you did, what matters is that that girl is alive right now because of you."

Of course, Lee had to throw in his two cents. "Besides, if you had jumped in front of the van, you would've been fine and that Tyler kid would have been squished."

I knew he was only trying to lighten the mood in the only way he knew how, humour, so I didn't throw something at him.

Jesse poked her head around our group hug so that they could see her. "I want a hug too."

Clare chuckled and opened one of her arms, letting Jesse burrow in like a small, woodland creature.

Afterwards, we spent a while discussing whether or not I should go to school tomorrow. While my absence would be obvious to the Cullen's, I don't think I could concentrate on anything if I did go in, so it was decided that I could skip one day, considering that it was Friday.

That night, we were all sitting around the TV. Every week, we have an official movie night and we all get turns picking the film. It was on nights like these that we really felt like a normal family and it was only when I was with my family that I could take my ring off and enjoy being me without worry.

I was sprawled on the couch with my legs hanging over the edge and my head on Jesse's lap. Micheal and Clare were both sitting on the love seat, and Lee had his own armchair, a practice that we adopted after he continually knocked us off whatever seat we were sharing, claiming that it was an 'accident'.

It had been Jesse's turn to pick the movie and for whatever reason, she chose Finding Nemo, not that I was complaining, because I loved that movie, but for a fifty-seven year old vampire, she sure loved Disney.

That same fifty-seven year old vampire burst out laughing as soon as Dory tried to speak whale. "Man, I freaking love that fish."

I smiled at her exuberance. I wonder if Alice would like Finding Nemo? She seems like the Disney type. Or would she prefer romantic comedies? Why am I asking myself these questions?

Shaking my head in confusion, I went back to watching the movie.

I got as far as the dentist scene, then I was suddenly thinking about Alice's smile. She doesn't smile as much as she should. I felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that I was the reason she was smiling less. My avoidance had gotten to her and at that moment, I felt like the world's biggest a-hole.

Maybe I could talk to her a little. Surely I wouldn't blurt everything out during a simple conversation? My thoughts went back to her smile and I wasn't sure if I could answer that question truthfully.

Clare was the first one to notice my absentmindedness. "Bella, what's got you looking so glum?"

Her question made the others look in my direction.

I sighed. "I was just wondering if maybe I could talk to Alice a little. I mean, she's sorta the first friend that I've ever made and she's...interesting." For some reason, I blushed at my choice of words, something that my entire family noticed.

Clare's eyes widened a fraction before a smile broke out across her face. "I think that it would be fine if you spent a little time with Alice. From what you've told me, she seems like a lovely girl." She turned to look at Micheal, who also smiled.

"I agree with your mother. It's not like you have to tell her everything, but I think it would be good for you. And who knows, maybe you _can _tell her everything some day."

Lee, who at this point was upside down on the armchair, put his two thumbs up, then twisted his hands until they were more upright to us. "If it's what you want to do, then I say go for it."

Jesse was the last to speak. She looked down at me seriously. "I'm too lazy to think of my own encouraging statement, so I'm going to steal Lee's, it's fresh in your mind." Her laziness knows no bounds.

Lee scoffed. "Bella, never go to your sister for a pep talk. It will only end up with you being as depressed as you were and her cackling in her head." Jesse gave him a mock scowl and threw the pillow I was using as padding at him.

With the pillow gone so abruptly, my head smacked into her lap. "Hey! I was using that." I scowled up at her.

She laughed and ruffled my hair, white strands going everywhere. "My need was much more pressing."

I couldn't help but smile at the expression on Lee's face, pillow clutched in one hand.

Seeing a pillow-fight about to begin, which would invariably end up with _something _being thrown in the wood-chipper, Clare stepped in. "Ok, you two. The movie just ended while you were being childish. It's time that we go hunt."

She stood up, quickly followed by the others and was about to go out the door when I remembered something. With all the Cullen-avoiding, I had completely forgotten about it. "Hey, before you go, Angela, a friend from school, invited me to go dress shopping on Saturday. Is that ok?" I may be a non-human, but I was still seventeen.

"Sure, but don't be out too late, you may not need much sleep but we need to keep up appearances." With that they ran out into the woods to go kill something and eat it, leaving me with Sanderson, who was stretched out in front of the fire.

I got up to make something to eat, thinking about how I was going to start talking to Alice. I mean, I could just go up to her and, you know, say something, but how would I explain my reasons for suddenly starting a conversation after three solid weeks of avoiding her.

I couldn't believe that it had been that easy to convince my family. I'm sure that I could talk to Alice, maybe even be her friend and not spill my guts. Maybe.

I was putting the pasta that would become my dinner into the pot when another thought struck me.

What if Alice didn't want to talk to_ me_? I did ignore her, regardless of my reasons. Here I was just expecting her to jump at the chance to talk to me. I really needed to apologise to her. Profusely.

I heard a meow coming from the living room. Walking in, I found Sanderson in the exact same position that I'd left him. He meowed again and stretched his paw out towards me.

"You are one lazy cat. You're not getting dinner in bed and if you want sustenance, you have to come out into the kitchen." The fact that I was having a conversation with my cat didn't escape my notice.

He stood up, stretched and padded into the kitchen, sitting beside his bowl.

I put his favourite cat kibble in the bowl and filled his other bowl with water. I'd never met a cat that loved water more than Sanderson. I'd even found him laying in a puddle on one of the rare hot days.

I hurriedly went to pull the pasta off the hob, and put it in the strainer. I was about to strain it fully when the phone rang, a fairly rare occurrence

I flashed to the phone and picked it up. "Van Allen residence."

The voice on the other end was Angela's. "Hey Bella. I was just calling to make sure that we were still on for Friday."

I was confused for a moment. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"The accident at school today." Oh, right. Nice one, Bella.

"Oh. Well, I'm still willing to go if you are. You're still going, right?" My voice seemed kind of desperate at the end, but the thought of going dress shopping with only Jessica for company was just too painful.

She laughed. "Yes, I'm still going. I wouldn't leave you alone with Jessica. It's just a shame that you're not going to the dance, I'm sure that there are plenty of guys at school trying to work up the courage to ask you."

I cringed at the thought. When I was nine, Jesse had forcibly given me the _talk, _something that Clare had been intending to do, but Jesse had wanted to see the look on my face. According to her, I should have been looking at boys a different way for a few years now, but they still seemed the same to me. It's not like I had much contact with them in general, but I did see them quite often now and I felt nothing when I looked at them. Except maybe mild annoyance.

"Don't worry about me, you just go on and enjoy yourself. With Ben of course."

I could almost _feel _her blushing on the other end.

"How did you—?"

I chuckled. After another impromptu crash course from my sister, I could now spot someone hitting on someone else from a mile away. Unless of course it had to do with me, in which case, I was unbelievably dense. On more than one occasion, I had heard Lee mumble something about a show called The Big Bang Theory, a guy called Sheldon and sarcasm, whatever that meant, but it always happened after some guy, which forty percent of the time was Mike, hit on me and I just stared at him with a confused expression on my face.

I was really starting to get annoyed with his constant advances and had tried to let him down the easy way, but he just won't quit. I knew that I wasn't the only one who didn't like him, as I'd seen Alice sending very dirty looks in his direction. I wonder if he'd tried to hit on Alice, too. The thought brought a feeling of anger. Alice was a really nice person and she didn't need a jerk like Mike harassing her.

"Angela, I hate to break it to you, but everyone knows. Kinda hard not to notice you two making goo-goo eyes at each other."

There was a slight pause, then Angela's voice became very excited. "Okay, so I'm going out with Ben. He's fantastic and sweet and really romantic. On our first date, he brought me a rose. Honestly, I can't stop thinking about him. Even if I'm talking about something completely different, I find a way to tie it in with him."

That must be nice. To like someone enough that they were always on your mind. I wonder if Alice had someone like that. Of course she did, she was Alice.

"Well, in that case, we're going to have to pick out a great dress, so he won't take his eyes off of you all night."

Angela actually giggled. "I hope so. Well, I gotta go and call Jessica to make sure that she's still going. I'll see you tomorrow"

"Bye." Maybe Jessica would cancel.

I hung up the phone, went back into the kitchen and was putting the pasta sauce in when I really thought about what she'd said. Always thinking about someone, finding them really sweet, being able to associate almost anything with them.

The pasta sauce jar tipped forward and the entire contents went in.

No, it couldn't be.

But what if it is?

It's not possible.

You know it is.

Holy crap.

After thinking all of this, I found myself sitting on the closest chair, still in shock.

It actually made sense. I was always thinking about her, she was sweet and I loved talking with her, I wanted to spend more time with her, even at the risk of my secret and no matter what I was doing, I always managed to tie her into it.

The realisation was totally unexpected.

I had a crush on Alice Cullen.

APOV

Bella wasn't at school the next day. It was also a Friday, so I'd have to wait two extra days to get to see her.

My family couldn't stop thinking about yesterday's incident and I was no exception. It seemed to be on repeat in my head, Jasper running towards that girl, eyes black and teeth bared. Seeing Bella step out in front of the charging vampire and placing her hand on him. His instant transformation.

When she had taken that step forward, I had felt true fear. She could've been hurt, or even killed.

I had come to the somewhat surprising conclusion that I _liked _Isabella Van Allen in that very moment. It had only been further solidified during the talk with Carlisle and Esme. We had brainstormed what we knew about Bella and when everything I said was positive, I just knew.

Of course, Edward had been in the same room when I came to that conclusion, so he knew too. He had asked me if he could talk to me outside, so we went into the forest, far enough away that the rest of our family couldn't hear us.

"Alice, are you crazy? You've only known this girl for three weeks and she spent most of that time avoiding you. You don't even know what _species _she is." He was pacing. I hated it when he paced.

I knew why he was in such a mood. This wasn't like a human thing, easily brushed aside. Vampires were different and we only had one mate during our...existence and when we found them, that was it. It wasn't as instantaneous as the wolves' imprinting, but it was just as strong, if given the time to build up.

"I know, Edward, but you know that I can't help how I feel. It was a surprise to me too." But in the back of my head, I wondered if it had been such a surprise. I knew how much her ignoring me had hurt me, how much I wanted to talk to her, spend time with her.

Edward scoffed. "And what if she doesn't feel the same way about you. What will you do then."

I had been so caught up in these new feelings, that I hadn't thought about what I'd do if she didn't like me back. The thought was like a stab of pain.

Edwards gaze immediately softened. "I'm sorry, Alice. That was incredibly insensitive of me."

"But it was true. I don't even know if she likes girls, let alone if she'll like me."

I sighed and sat down on a nearby log. I couldn't even rely on my visions to help me figure this out.

Edward sat down beside me. "It'll be okay, Alice."

I looked up at him. "Which one of us in the clairvoyant here?"

He chuckled. "I'm just saying that we'll figure this out, somehow."

I gave a little smile and leaned into him. "I know, I'm just scared is all. And...excited. I've never really felt this way before and if I did in my human life, then I don't think that I would've forgotten."

I was panicking ever so slightly. I had been waiting for this for so long and now that I had found her, I was afraid that I'd lose her. What if something happened to her? She was going into Port Angeles tomorrow with Angela and Jessica. The wolves had informed us of killings about ten miles away from there, well, they'd come to see if we'd done the killings, but they still informed us. They also intended to go see Bella's family sometime in the near future and after I made them promise, they assured us that it was only to make a treaty because they were 'golden-eyes'.

The humans had chalked the deaths up to animal attacks, but all of us knew that it could very well be a vampire. What if it was a vampire and it smelled Bella? Her scent was unusual enough for the

Edwards gaze snapped to mine. "No, Alice. You are not going to Port Angeles so that you can spy on her."

I stiffened and looked at him. "Firstly, Edward, you don't own me, I can make my own decisions and secondly, I would not be spying _on_ her, just the area _around _her, in case there's any danger. We may not yet know if it's a vampire or not, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

He looked at me once again. "Ok, but _you_ get to tell the rest of them."

That yielded surprising results.

Carlisle and Esme were supportive. They believed that Bella seemed like a nice person and they really wanted to meet her someday. Emmett made a few jokes about me needing a trench coat an dark glasses, but he was fine with it. Jasper was grateful to Bella, so he wanted to be sure that she was safe also. This brought a smile from me; he was such a great brother to have. Rosalie, strangely enough, was also fine with it.

After my mouth dropped open, she scoffed at me. "Look, Alice, while I don't approve of the way she's been treating you and I still think that you should tie her down and _make _her talk to you if you want it that badly, she did stop Jasper and she protected our secret at risk to her own and for that, I don't hate her."

After his initial outburst, Edward eventually agreed to me going, knowing that I would go whether he approved or not.

After that was all settled, I waited and hoped that Bella wouldn't find out just yet and think that I was some crazy stalker.

**A/N: Sorry that it's shorter than usual, but I needed to get this up there today. I hope the realisation was realistic and not too rushed. Hopefully, the next chapter will have a little action. **

**As always, R&R, they're what keep me writing.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I would like to apologise for the last chapter. As Reflections of a Curious Mind pointed out, there was a sentence unfinished. I was supposed to be 'Her scent was unusual enough for the vampire to investigate if he or she came across it. Maybe I could... ' My computer is kind of on the fritz right now but I'll fix the glitches.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella.**

BPOV

I was still in slight shock on Friday. Due to the fact that I hadn't gone to school today, I had plenty of time to think about...things. Mainly Alice.

I was sitting in the white leather couch in the living room, feet propped up and Sanderson sleeping on my stomach. His breathing was loud to my ears, as were his little, tiny snores. I could hear Clare in the upstairs game-room, playing arcade games to pass the time until her shift at the bank started. Every time we moved, Clare ended up doing a different job, and this time it was a banker.

This was something that I had never dealt with before, something that was completely new to me. I had always assumed that my first crush would be on a human guy, not a vampire girl. I mean, I had never looked at girls that way before, I had never looked at guys that way before either.

I hadn't actually looked at Alice that way come to think of it, although she did have a great smile and gorgeous eyes and really soft looking hair... Oh crap.

Now that I had come to the realisation that I had a crush on Alice, everything about her seemed different somehow, more real.

I guess this was why I'd wanted to start talking to her again.

I absentmindedly flicked through the TV channels, trying to find something interesting in day-time television.

What was I supposed to say to her? How was I meant to act? Would she know I liked her? How would she be able to tell?

I was harbouring the tiny, miniscule hope that there was even a slight chance that she liked girls. Even if she did like girls, what was there to say that she'd like _me_? She didn't even know what I was.

So tell her.

As simple as that sounded, I had no idea how she'd react. It's not like it was freak-out worthy, but I'd never told anyone outside my family before and I was hesitant to.

I sighed and got up, doing my best to ignore Sanderson's protests. He huffed and sat down on one of the cushions, thoroughly annoyed.

"Sorry, Sandy. I gotta go fly and we both know that I can't stay here forever."

I padded up to my room, still in my pyjamas. Only sleeping for about an hour last night had been enough for me.

I loved my room, plain and simple. It was absolutely perfect.

The floors were a dark hard-wood, as was the double bed, desk and bookshelf. The bed was raised, with a cabinet underneath for storage and a small wooden ladder for climbing up, not that I ever used it. Like the rest of our house, one wall was completely, made of glass. Being able to fly meant that I didn't like to be indoors a lot, so there was a huge double door on the adjacent wall to the window, also glass. This lead out onto a huge balcony, also made of a dark wood.

The balcony overlooked a huge dip in the forest. It was also very secluded so it made the perfect landing and taking-off pad. The deck chairs and hammocks were for rare warm days.

No matter where we moved, or what house we were in, which was always secluded, my family made sure to include a balcony for me and I loved them for it.

I quickly changed into a light blue t-shirt and jeans, leaving my shoes and socks off. When I was at home, I never wore my ring, so I could see the dark blue wing tattoos on my back.

They weren't like human ones, where they looked inky and heavy, instead, they were so detailed that every feather could be seen in fine detail, better than any human artist could render them. When I unfurled my wings, the tattoos shone and came forth, becoming larger, real versions.

Tying my hair up so that it wouldn't blow everywhere, I went out onto the balcony and hopped up onto one of the wooden railings. Glancing upward, I could see the dark storm clouds and could feel a smile on my face. If there was one thing that I loved doing, it was flying during a storm.

Unfurling my wings, I catapulted off of the balcony, free-falling for a second or two before spreading my wings and catching the air.

I pushed downwards with my wings and shot up into the sky, rain pelting me from above. This was why I loved the rain. When you could fly among the clouds and see the rain falling below you, it was beautiful. It also helped that my wings were waterproof, so I never had to worry about taking a hairdryer to them.

I caught a rising air current and flew into one of the larger clouds. From below, they looked like candy floss, all soft and fluffy when it actually felt like flying through a wall of suspended water droplets, each one single from the rest, yet joined to create a larger form.

The water buffeted my skin and soaked my clothes and hair. I shifted flying patterns and pushed my wings harder, rising above all of the clouds and rain. I waited there for a moment, enjoying the sunshine present up here, and then I tucked my wings in and fell, straight down without direction.

The winds at this velocity were powerful and I could hear nothing past the screeching. I was reaching speeds of 280mph and the ground was approaching fast.

I caught glimpses of the town of Forks off in the distance during my wild spinning, but I was aiming for the forest, far into the wilderness.

I kept falling until I was almost to the bottom, before I snapped out my wings and coasted low over the tree tops.

Letting out a 'whoop' of enjoyment, I pulled up and dropped to the forest floor, deftly avoiding the thick branches. There was no sunshine, so the forest was dark, yet I felt completely at home here.

I started walking in a random direction, my thoughts on whether or not Alice could come flying with me if I eventually told her. She was small enough to carry, that is, if she even wanted to. God, I couldn't even go five minutes without thinking about her. What was I going to do when I was near her?

Blushing at the thought, I looked at my watch. I still had time but I couldn't be out here all day.

I had been walking in no particular direction for about an hour, when I came across a fawn, with its mother nearby.

The fawn began frolicking in my direction, the mother merely picked up her head, looked at me once, and followed her offspring towards me.

For as long as I could remember, animals had been completely comfortable around me. I had once gotten lost in the forest when I was about five after playing hide-and-seek with Lee. They had found me the next day asleep in a bear cave, with the bear and her cub. She had even given me a rabbit, which I hid when she wasn't looking. I had gotten some weird looks from my family that day.

The fawn came over and nuzzled its head into my side. I chuckled and petted its head. "Hey there. Affectionate little thing, aren't you?" The mother was waiting off to the side, nibbling on grass.

Thinking again that I had to get back soon, I sighed. "I need to be going. See you around." The fawn gave something that resembled a bleat, and frolicked back to its mother. I watched as both of them disappeared into the trees. This was why I was a vegetarian. I understood my family's need to hunt animals and I even respected them for it, but I couldn't bring myself to eat meat.

I once again unfurled my wings and shot back up into the sky. The rain had died down slightly and the clouds were a lighter colour once unburdened from their loads.

As soon as I reached my house, I knew something was off. Tucking in my wings and slipping on my ring, which was never far from me, I didn't bother going through the house, instead just jumping onto the roof and walking over it.

The tiles were slippery from all the rain but I kept my balance easily, moving forward at a pace that equalled a human running.

I smelled them and heard them before I saw them.

The scent of canines and the heavy sound of their breathing reached me up on the roof, right before I saw three huge wolves and two men facing my family, all of which were present.

The wolves were easily the size of large ponies, one dark grey, one brown and another a lighter brown. Their teeth, from what I could see, were huge and dagger-like, their claws black and wicked sharp.

The two men were both very tall and covered with muscle, with tanned skin and short black hair.

As I watched, a breeze picked up and sent my scent in their direction. All five of them drew in deep breaths and turned to face me. Seeing me on top of a two story building, the men's expressions became confused. The taller of the two turned to face my family, specifically Micheal.

"She must be Isabella, your other...family member. She does not smell human, but she's not a vampire." His voice was deep and had an air of command.

I scoffed and jumped from the roof, landing on a tree bough near Jesse. "_She _is standing, or rather crouching, right here and would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about her as though she weren't."

The large one seemed taken aback by my statement and the dark grey wolf growled slightly.

Jesse scowled at him. "Oh _shut up. _All you've done is growl since you got here. If you've got nothing nice, or intelligible, to say then don't say anything at all."

The growling became more pronounced. The large one turned to look at him. "Paul, stop. She's right." He turned to look at me. "And I apologise, it's just that we've never come across your kind before. Would you care to tell us what you are?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry, I should've done that first. I'm Sam and the man beside me is Jacob. The rude grey wolf is Paul and the other two are Quill and Embry. We are werewolves from La Push and we've come to make a treaty with your..." He trailed off, looking unsure.

"My family."

"Oh. Well the Cullen's informed us that none of you were going to be trouble, but we had to check for ourselves."

"So you don't trust them?"

"Not exactly, no."

"Ok, then, continue with whatever it is you were doing before I dropped in." The other male, Jacob, smiled a little at this, but the smile vanished as soon as he looked at my family again.

Sam spoke up again. "The terms of the treaty are simple. Neither side will reveal the existence of the others to the humans, neither side will in any way harm a human, both sides will remain on their side of the previously agreed line and you will not turn any humans while you are here."

Jesse pouted. "Oh, shoot. And here I was fully intending to build a newborn army and take over the world."

Micheal looked at her. "Jesse, please refrain from teasing the werewolves."

"Fine. Killjoy."

Jacob took a step forward, his eyes on me. "What about Sam's earlier question, are you going to tell us what you are?" He seemed kind of nervous.

Once again, I shifted uncomfortably. "Not really. No offense or anything, but I've only just met you." Then I thought of something. "Hey, does this treaty apply to me, seeing as I'm not a vampire?"

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment. "For some reason, I feel that you're not a threat to us. In fact, I've been feeling very calm since you arrived." His eyes narrowed. "One of the Cullens, Jasper, can manipulate emotions. Is that what you're doing?"

"Heck no. If I could do that, I'd use it to get that stick out of Paul's ass." Jacob tipped his head downwards to shield his silent laughter.

Sam frowned. "Then why do we all feel so comfortable around you? You associate with vampires, no offense, but it's something we usually don't take very well."

My mind instantly flashed to the fawn in the forest. Animals really liked me, these guys were basically giant wolves.

If this weren't so weird, it'd be funny.

"Um, this is probably going to seem strange, but I've got this thing where animals really like me and, um, you're sorta like big dogs. In a good way." I added that last bit hastily. Maybe I should have said 'canines' or 'wolves', not 'dogs'.

He looked at me, confused. "Well, I know that this is an unusual case, but I can't help but feel as though you're not...a bad person."

Now it was m turn to frown. "Neither are my family."

He seemed sceptical. "I'm sorry, but it's in our nature to dislike vampires. We always trust our instincts and because my instincts are telling me that you're no threat to us or the humans, you and only you will be allowed on our land, although I'm not sure why you'd want to."

"Actually, some of the kids at school were thinking of going down to First Beach sometime in the near future, but that's beside the point. Continue with the treaty."

Sam cleared his throat and spoke to my family. "Do you except the terms of the treaty?" His voice was formal.

Micheal was the one who replied. "Yes, we do."

Sam nodded and was about to leave when his eyes flickered to me and he seemed to make a decision. He turned his head back to my family. "We spoke about the killings near Port Angeles before your...daughter arrived. We know now that it isn't you and we apologise for making accusations. However, due to your arrival, many more of our people are becoming werewolves. A lot of them are young and volatile and the possibility of the deaths being the work of a vampire has gotten them yearning for a fight. It would be best if you stayed well clear of the treaty line as they might attack any vampire that they see. I assure you that this is not a threat, but a warning. It will not be their fault, because at such a young age, our instincts take over, but I would prefer to avoid any casualties, on either side."

Micheal nodded. "As would I."

With that said, they walked back into the forest, Sam first with Jacob a step behind him and the wolves flanking.

I called out after them, "Goodbye," and could see Jacob wave at me before he disappeared. He seemed to be the least hostile of the lot of them. While I had seen him shoot my family some dirty looks, I supposed that it was only in his nature, not that I liked it.

Turning to look at my family, I smiled. "They seemed nice."

They were all staring at me.

"What?"

Clare looked confused. "That's just it. They _were _nice. But before you got here, all of the wolves were growling, Sam was angry and Jacob had a permanent scowl on his face. When they left, the wolves had stopped growling, Sam was completely calm and Jacob was smiling and waving at you. That's a big difference, Bella."

Micheal nodded. "I had no idea that your affinity with animals would include the werewolves. You completely calmed them down."

I shrugged. "The bigger question is; did anyone here know that there were werewolves in Forks? This place seems like a weirdness-magnet."

"It does seem like any supernatural creature within five hundred miles is drawn to this town. Like a big black hole of strangeness." Lee said, a thoughtful look on his face.

We all walked back into the house, bored now that the wolves weren't here to entertain us. Yes, we had a funny idea of entertainment.

Sitting down on the sofa, I pulled a cushion into my lap. "What did he mean by those killings near Port Angeles?"

Micheal sighed, sitting down beside Clare. "The human authorities are saying they are animal attacks, but they could be vampire. It's not that near to Port Angeles, but it is the closest city."

"Will this affect me going shopping with Angela and Jessica?"

"I shouldn't think so. It might not even be a vampire and even then, it is only near Port Angeles. Your scent dissipates extremely fast, so the only way for this vampire, if it is a vampire, to notice you, is for he or she to run into you directly." It was times like these that I loved my screwed-up biology. " The chances of that happening are rare. Also, it's not like you're defenceless. Just, be careful."

"I will, Dad."

Jesse perked up. "On the upside, if you do run into this vampire, maybe it'll eat Jessica."

Lee looked wistful. "One can only hope."

I laughed at the glares they were getting from Clare, which I quickly stopped when she turned it on me.

"Hey, Lee, speaking of Jessica, did she make any more advances?" I was curious whether or not she had gotten the message.

He laughed, his entire six foot frame shaking. "No, thank God, she's gone back to pestering Edward. You should see the look on his face whenever she approaches him, it's like a deer in the headlights." He dissolved into laughter at the memory.

I grinned. "Good for you, bad for him. Well, I gotta go and decide what I'm gonna wear tomorrow."

Jesse insisted on helping me, despite my protests, claiming that I was a fashion-reject.

While Jesse may not be obsessed with fashion, she wasn't a total wash-out, like me. After a small debate which ended with her smacking me in the back of the head and throwing the clothes at me, screaming, "You _will _wear it!", I was left with dark jeans and a frilly blouse that I was none too fond of.

Despite the multitude of distractions today, Alice was always at the back of my mind.

My worry over what to do regarding her was constant and I finally decided to just go up to her, say 'Hi', apologise for being so frigid towards her and just go from there.

I only had a single thought while I was getting ready for Port Angeles the next day. '_I hope she doesn't hate me._'

**A/N: So, it's not my shortest chapter, but it's not my longest either. I hope you liked it and that the wolves were ok.**

**As always, R&R. ;) **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Really sorry for the delay in updating, I just got a new book series, 'Mistborn' by Brandon Sanderson and I can't put it down. Anyhow, I'll try and make my updates more frequent.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella. Also, the description of the Cullen's house is from the book because I wanted to get it right.**

BPOV

I was staring at myself in the mirror, wondering what shopping with two humans would be like. I had gone with Jesse before, but she wasn't exactly normal.

What kind of things did they do that differed from vampire shopping trips? Would it be similar to hanging out with them at school, with the addition of buying things? Why do I even care? I really needed to get out more. Maybe Alice would like to go out with me.

I instantly blushed at the thought. Not _going out _with me, just going shopping or something. Unless she _wanted _to go out with me. Now that was ridiculous.

Sighing, I once again fixed the damn frilly top I was wearing before shrugging on a jacket over it. According to the weatherman, it would be cold in the Port Angeles area tonight and I couldn't afford to raise suspicion.

Absentmindedly wondering if whether or not my upbringing had made me paranoid, I went downstairs to wait for Angela and Jessica to pick me up. It was only one o'clock, but I didn't know how long it would take them to find a dress and the days were shorter at his time of year.

The rest of my family had gone hunting, so I had the house to myself, which was a lot more boring than it seemed. It's not like I was going to host a huge party and get drunk, if I could even get drunk. Could I get drunk? I'd have to check that out one of these days.

I had reached the kitchen, intending to make a quick snack, when the phone rang.

I jumped slightly at the loud noise. Laughing at myself, I ran to pick it up. "Van Allen residence."

It was Angela's voice on the other end. "Hey, Bella, it's me. I was just calling to check if you were ready. We'll be there in about five minutes."

Angela was always a considerate person. "Yeah, I'm ready. Do you know if Jessica managed to convince Lauren to join us?" Lauren was a truly despicable girl, much worse than Jessica could ever be. She had also taken an instant dislike to me, for reasons unknown. Needless to say, the feeling was mutual.

_Please say no, please say no. _"No, Lauren had other plans apparently. But we'll still have fun." Oh thank whatever gods were up there.

"We sure will." I knew that Angela could tell from my tone of voice that I was unbelievably happy that Lauren had 'other plans', but she didn't call me on it, bless her.

"Okay, asking if you were ready or not wasn't the only reason that I called."

My eyebrows rose at this. "Really? Then why else did you call?"

"Well, you won't believe who called me last night and asked if she could tag along. Alice Cullen." Her voice was excited, as though she couldn't believe the idea of a Cullen asking to go shopping with the common-folk.

I could feel my mouth drop open and my eyes widen at this revelation. "She what?"

"I just wanted to make sure that this was okay. You and her seemed a bit tense around each other lately. But she seems like a really great person and she needed to go dress shopping herself, so I figured, why not?"

After about three more seconds of me acting like a fish, I managed to respond. "It's no problem. I've been meaning to talk to her anyway." She was a sneaky vampire, I'd give her that. But, why now? She seemed to have given up interrogating me for information, so why would she tag along on this trip?

"Great. I'll see you in a few," Angela said cheerfully.

"Sure." I hung up the phone and went to the window, anxiously looking out for their car. This was going to make this trip much more interesting, that's for sure.

Suddenly grateful to Jesse for making me wear something nice, I listened for the sounds of an engine coming my way.

I heard them about twenty seconds before they arrived, Jessica's old white Mercury made a very unusual noise, sort of like a cat coughing up a hairball.

I locked the door behind me and jogged to the car.

The first thing that I noticed was that Alice wasn't there. Angela noticed and answered my unasked question. "Your house was closer so we still have to pick her up."

I nodded and hopped in, doing my best to ignore the scowl Jessica tossed in my direction.

As Jessica drove her car out of the main part of town, I realised that I had no idea where Alice lived. As soon as I mentioned this, Jessica responded. "Oh, yeah, Alice gave me directions, like, a lot of directions. She must live ages away. I had to write it all down."

Curiosity sated, I leant back into the back seat and stared out the window.

We passed over the bridge at the Calawah River, the long road winding northward, the houses getting bigger and farther apart the further we went. Then we were past the other houses altogether, driving through misty forest. Just as I was about to warn Jessica about the no-doubt impending Canadian border, we turned abruptly onto an unpaved road. It was unmarked, barely visible among the ferns. The forest encroached on both sides, leaving the road ahead only discernible for a few meters as it twisted around the ever-present trees.

Looking at what appeared to be a notebook, Jessica scowled and proceeded to drive for another few miles, until there was some thinning of the forest.

Suddenly, we were in a small meadow/lawn. Huge trees surrounded the house, overshadowing the porch that twisted around the first story, and what a house it was.

The house was timeless, graceful, and most likely a hundred years old. It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration. Jessica's was the only car in sight and I could hear a river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forestry.

I could see many windows, a must-have in any modern vampire home nowadays and the whole thing complemented the forest surrounding it nicely, the wooden walls blending and the glass reflecting the misty view.

I knew the Cullens were a rich family, seeing as all of their clothes were designer and they had a pretty nice everyday car, but I was now seeing the extent of their wealth. A house such as this wouldn't be cheap and from what Jessica's incessant ramblings told me, they also owned a huge portion of the surrounding forest. It was beginning to seem as though deep pockets were a prerequisite for any vampire family.

It was still pretty early in the morning so there were no lights on inside, but I could still clearly see the small, spiky-topped silhouette of Alice waiting just inside the dark-glassed front door. She had no doubt heard us coming long before we got here but she didn't seem like the type of person to wait in the rain for people to pick her up. Then again, she didn't seem like the type of person who went shopping with humans, but she was sure as hell doing that.

I wasn't under the impression that she was coming to spend some quality time with Jessica or Angela, neither of which she knew particularly well. It also wasn't for the shopping, regardless of what she had told Angela because I knew that she could go anytime that she wanted, being free from the restrictions placed on normal teenagers. This was mainly due to the obvious fact that she wasn't a normal teenager, or even really a teenager for that matter, and that she could just run there way faster than any car.

I watched as the front door opened and Alice danced down the steps, waving over her shoulder at a woman that I'm assuming is her 'mother'. She was, like all vampires, beautiful, with soft, caramel hair that passed her shoulders and kind golden eyes. She returned the wave before her eyes settled on me. Her eyebrows rose in curiosity, she obviously had been given a description of me by her children, and I couldn't help but wave cheerily at her, my instinct to be polite kicking in.

She seemed confused by my action at first, but it was soon replaced by a warm smile. Everything about her seemed to scream 'mother' and I half expected her to invite us all in for cookies and milk, which I highly doubt they had in their kitchen.

The door on my left side opened and Alice's scent wafted in bringing with it the impulse to close my eyes and inhale. _That was new. _

Forcing down the strange desire, I watched as Alice slid into the car and couldn't stop my eyes from giving her a once over.

Predictably, she was wearing designer clothing that suited her perfectly. A pair of black, fairly snug, jeans and a white blouse, with a black jacket over it. Seeing this, I couldn't understand how it had taken me so long to realise my attraction to her. Of course, now that I knew that I was attracted to her, I couldn't help but notice how close we were, side by side because the last seat in the car was taken up by an old computer that Jessica just _had_ to bring in for repairs today.

Shutting the door behind her, Alice turned to face me. "Hey Bella," She glanced at the front seats for a moment. "Thank you for letting me tag along, I really appreciate it." Her voice was sincere and contained all the excitement of an upcoming shopping trip.

Jessica, still seemingly shocked about having a Cullen in her car, merely nodded in response.

Angela looked back at us. "No problem, the more the merrier, right?" Looking at the ancient pile of technological crap on my right side, she seemed concerned. "You guys aren't too cramped back there, are you? Jess really needs to get that thing fixed today."

Alice and I looked at each other at the same time. "It's fine." We said in unison. Angela nodded and started talking to Jessica about what kind of dress she was looking for and what shops we should go to. I held Alice's golden gaze for about two seconds before I had to look away, feeling a blush coming on.

It was still raining as we made our way to Port Angeles, the raindrops creating a constant hum of noise. The streaming windows made sightseeing difficult as the images seemed distorted. Unfortunately, it also made the car seem smaller, not cramped exactly, but...intimate.

Her arm was pressed up against mine and, despite both of us having jackets on; I could feel the cold emanating from her. I kept my gaze focused straight ahead, doing my best to not look at her, because if I did, I would blush and I didn't like blushing.

I sat there for about three more minutes before I decided that talking with her would make me feel less awkward. I did want to mend some fences, after all.

I cleared my throat and she looked at me, eyes full of curiosity. "So, er, how've you been?" _That was it? That was all you could manage!_

As I mentally scolded myself for my lack of conversational skills, Alice's eyes widened in mild shock. "Oh, I've been fine. I've also been ignored and avoided, but you already know that."

I winced."Listen, I'd like to apologise for my behaviour over the past few weeks. I just didn't know what else to do." She looked sceptical, eyebrow raised. "Really, I'm sorry."

I really needed her to believe me. I'd missed our small conversations more than I'd like to admit. With the exception of right now, Alice was extremely easy to talk to and she always had something interesting to say.

Her expression softened, eyes losing their slightly annoyed look. Our voices were too low for the humans in the front to pick up on, so she didn't have to censor our conversation. "I guess I understand. I should probably thank you for what happened with Jasper, it was pretty risky for you."

"You're welcome. It was the least I could do."

She smiled at me cheerfully, eyes bright with amusement. "I said that I _should_ thank you, not that I did. Had you been nicer to me, then I would have, but now you get nothing."

Her smile grew wider at my confused expression and I decided to let it go. "Well, then I guess I'll have to make it up to you then."

She turned her head to face me fully and she looked a little too pleased. "I'm sure I can find something for you to do to gain my forgiveness."

I felt a pang of worry, wondering if maybe my offer was a foolish one. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to regret saying that?"

She kept grinning. "Don't worry about it now Bella."

I frowned. "Are you implying that I should worry about it later?"

"Maybe a little."

"How much is a little?"

She scrunched her face up in mock-thought. "Less than buying a fallout shelter, but more than sleeping with both eyes closed at night."

"Ok, now you're worrying me."

"You should be worried, but let's put thoughts of your impending doom behind us. I heard that you weren't going to the dance. Why not?"

"It just isn't something that I'm that interested in."

She seemed shocked by my statement. "But _why not? _It's a party. How can you not like parties?" Her eyes widened as a new thought occurred to her. "Is it because you can't dance or something embarrassing like that?"

My brow furrowed. "Why would you assume that I can't dance?"

"So you can dance?"

I went to respond, when I actually thought about it. Not once could I remember doing any kind of dancing. I was the kind of person who laid back and enjoyed the music. I didn't feel the urge to fling myself around, unlike Jesse, who , despite being an incredibly graceful dancer, broke more than one lamp while 'rocking out' to Britney Spears.

"You know, I've never actually tried."

Alice's mouth almost dropped open completely. "You've _never _danced? At all? But you move so gracefully, you'd be a fabulous dancer."

As soon as she realised what she'd said, she bit her lip and turned away embarrassedly.

I was still slightly frozen. Did she just call me graceful? Yes, yes she did.

Having Alice pay me a compliment was a wonderful thing and I couldn't help but grin.

Deciding that I should monopolise on the first and only time I've ever seen her embarrassed, I snickered. "So, you think I'm graceful?"

Alice shifted in her seat. "Well, um, yeah. I mean, we have gym together and you're really good and everything."

Suddenly not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, I smiled at her. "Thank you Alice, you're pretty graceful yourself."

She smiled back at me but before she could respond, Jessica piped up. "Ok guys, we're here. Time to go shopping."

At the mention of shopping, Alice lit up and practically threw herself out of the now parked car.

Port Angeles seemed to be a nice place to go if you were in need of a vacation. It was much more polished and quaint than Forks but Angela and Jessica knew it so well that they knew exactly where to go for what they needed. They passed the picturesque boardwalk by the bay, which I looked at with longing. It was a beautiful place and the unlit lights along the edge told me that it would be even more beautiful at night. Instead, they went to one big department store that was only a few streets away from the aforementioned beautiful bay.

I trailed along after them, not really wanting to get involved in the dress-based discussion the three of them were having.

I had rarely worn dresses as a child and most of the ones that I did wear inevitably ended up torn and muddied or some variation of both. I distinctly remembered a bright orange sundress, with matching hat, that Clare had put me in when I was about four. I had gotten so fed up with the thing that I had accidentally used my powers and set it on fire, which, thankfully, didn't affect me. Especially since I was actually _wearing _the dress at the time.

We were sitting in the fifth shop of the day, with both Jessica and Angela in the changing rooms, when I realised that I did not, in fact, like shopping. The reason that it took me so long to realise my underlying dislike of this particular pastime was because I liked some parts of it very much, namely the Alice-based fashion show that I was seeing.

Alice looked at me in the mirror and raised an eyebrow. "So, Bella, what do you think?"

She had on a simple black gown that seemed made for her. It was floor length, with a nice silver design and a neckline that showed the perfect amount of chest.

It was at this very moment that I realised how much I was attracted to Alice. Before this, I had known it, but had never known it while she had been in my presence. Now that she was standing in front of me, I once again couldn't understand how I hadn't noticed it before.

When I didn't respond, Alice waved a hand in front of my face, which didn't help, since it just made her scent more potent. The fruity fragrance tried to lull me into contentment, but I forced myself to pay attention.

"It's a really beautiful dress and it looks great on you."

She gave me a huge smile and turned to look at herself in the mirror. "Really? It looks okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Alice, it looks more than 'okay', it looks great. Now I command you to buy it."

She gave me a look. "You're not just saying that to get out of shopping, which you seem to hate, are you?"

I scoffed. "I don't _hate _shopping, I just dislike it immensely. And no, I'm not just saying it to get out of shopping. It really does look great."

She stayed looking at me for about two more seconds, trying to decide if I was being truthful or not, then she smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll get it."

Angela and Jessica came out next, staring in awe at Alice.

"Wow, Alice, that dress looks fantastic."Angela said.

Jessica, while trying to hide a jealous scowl, nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, you should totally get it. What do you think of mine?"

She twirled to show off the knee-length electric blue dress that had spaghetti straps.

I managed to tear my eyes away from Alice, who was heading to the changing rooms, long enough to glance at them both. Jessica's dress suited her and brought out her eyes, which I told her, trying my best to get out of this shop. The shopping experience was becoming uncomfortable now that Alice had gone back to change out of her dress and I couldn't discreetly stare at her anymore.

Angela had chosen a pale pink dress that draped around her tall frame nicely and brought out honey tints in her light brown hair. She had just returned from the counter after paying for it.

It was only me and Angela now as both Alice and Jessica were trying on a few more 'just in case' dresses. They wanted to be certain even though they had both picked out what they were going to buy. This made absolutely no sense to me, which I told Angela.

She laughed. "They're shopaholics, Bella, it's all about the process."

"Well I wish they'd hurry up." I grumbled. The uncomfortable feeling that I'd first felt a few moments before had grown steadily worse. I felt nervous and jumpy and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong.

I opened up all of my senses to see if anything was going on, but I didn't notice anything unusual. That only served to make me more nervous because I _knew _something was wrong, even if I didn't know what it was.

Angela looked at me quizzically. "You ok? You seem a little edgy."

I tried to dissuade her worries, tried to tell her that I was fine, when I realised that I wasn't fine. I was worried about something and I had absolutely no idea what it was. Before I could say anything, I was hit with a powerful urge to get out of the shop, to go somewhere else, somewhere where something was wrong.

I looked at my watch and then at Angela. "Oh shoot. I totally forgot, I was going to go to this bookstore today and its closing soon." I quickly glanced at the door, fighting the need to run to where I needed to be. "You guys need to get your shoes and accessories still, so I'll just run there now and meet you all at the restaurant."

Angela nodded slowly. "Okay, that sounds fine."

I smiled at her. "Great. I won't be too long if I can help it."

As soon as I could, I shot out the door, forcing myself to remember to keep a human pace.

I started off at a walk, but the sense of urgency I was getting forced me to speed up.

I practically jogged down the streets, which were filling up with end-of-the-workday traffic and I just knew that I was headed in the right direction.

After about fifteen seconds, I noticed that I was heading away from the shopping district. The little foot traffic I had seen was going north, and it looked like the buildings here were mostly warehouses.

There were still a few people about, so I couldn't break into the supernaturally fast run that I was dying to, because to them, it would look as though I had disappeared.

The sense of wrongness that I was feeling multiplied and I couldn't take it anymore. Diving into a deserted alleyway, I looked up the side of the adjacent building. If I couldn't move fast _amongst_ humans, then I'd move fast _above _them.

Crouching down, I pushed off from the ground and shot up into the air, swinging over the edge of the three story building and landing on the roof.

As soon as my feet touched down, I ran forward, jumping the gaps between buildings easily.

I was still running where this 'feeling' was telling me to go when I heard a noise. It sounded like a yell, followed by raucous laughter.

This time I didn't need the pull to direct me. Following the sounds, I ran until I came to an abandoned warehouse. It was on the other side of the street, several meters away and after doing a quick check for passers-by, I vaulted across the distance, landing silently on the cold stone of the warehouse.

I dove forward and grabbed onto the ledge hanging over the space behind the building. I crouched down on the ledge, hands grasping the edges and looked at what brought me here.

It had gotten dark very quickly and the only light came from the street lamps in front of the warehouse. This was blocked by the building itself, so they were all cast in a dark shadow. Despite this, I could easily see what was below.

There were four of them. A group of men that were dressed too casually for office workers, but they didn't seem like tourists either. From my vantage point on the roof, I could easily see the fifth person, a girl of about thirteen. She had mid-length blond hair and was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt. She was also terrified.

From up here I could see that there was a trail of blood running down the side of her face and a bruise forming on her cheek. I growled at the sight, hand clenching so hard that the stone slab in my hand cracked and crumbled.

The man that I'm assuming was the leader stepped forward and I could smell the alcohol on him from up here.

He was a big man, with a week's worth of beard on his face and small, dark eyes. "Hey, come on now, don't be like that, sugar," he called, and the raucous laughter began again.

The girl backed up. "Stay away from me!"

The man went to grab her. She shrieked and slapped him.

His expression went from playful to angry. "Oh, you're gonna regret that." He took a step forward and I'd seen enough. I felt a sudden, ferocious anger sweep through me. How dare they attempt something like this. How dare they presume to take advantage of another in such a way!

I went to the adjacent side of the building and jumped down, landing soundlessly in a crouch. Stalking around the corner to make it seem like I'd just arrived, I yelled to get their attention.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Anger infused my voice and gave it a menecing edge. I felt hot, as though I had swallowed a lit match with a chaser of gasoline. The heat was poruring over my skin and I had to fight not to let it out, to burn these men into oblivion.

The men all turned to me in surprise. The leader stepped forward, the other three blocking the girl. His eyes trailed over me slowly and a huge grin spread over his face. "Hey, looking for some fun? 'Cause we sure are, and you're it."

My eyes zeroed in on his hand, which had speckles of blood on it, and judging from the scent, it belonged to the girl.

The anger I felt reached boiling point, but when my voice came, it was quiet, almost soft.

"You just made a big mistake." My eyes met his and he took a step back before he knew what was happening. As soon as he realised what he'd done, his face twisted in rage.

Running forward, he cocked his arm back and swung forward. In my rage filled haze, I merely grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back until I heard the joint pop. He screamed in pain and I kneed him in the stomach before I let him drop.

The other three rushed me at once. To me, their movements were sluggish and they seemed to move in slow motion.

I grabbed the arm of the first one to reach me and pulled him into the fist of my other hand. I heard the 'crack' of a rib breaking and swept his legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a 'thud', but I'd already moved on.

Easily dodging the swing of the second man by ducking, I took the opportunity to hook my arm around his legs and pull him upwards. While he was still in mid-air, I slammed my open palm into his chest, crushing him into the ground.

The burning hatred that I felt for these men had come out of nowhere. I had never experienced the desire to do harm to another so strongly before and it took all of my self control to pull my punches and ensure that none of the humans were killed.

Seeing as it took me about eight seconds to take out his companions, the final man didn't have enough time to realise, in his drunken state, that he was in trouble. He had picked up a length of wood from a stack by the ware house and swung it at my legs.

I jumped over it and spun, slamming my foot into his face in a perfectly executed roundhouse-kick. His head snapped to the side and I heard the sickening 'crunch' of his nose breaking. He was thrown to the side before crashing into the warehouse wall.

"What is _wrong _with you people?" I roared, the rage in my system still burning with a ferocious energy. Only two of the four were conscious and even they were on the ground, moaning.

I turned to the girl to find her staring at me in shock. For a moment I was afraid that she'd noticed that I wasn't human from how I'd fought, but I knew that I'd slowed down to a human pace and hadn't done anything unnatural.

With a gasp, she ran over to me and threw her arms around me. "Oh, God, thank you! Thank you." As quickly as it had come, the rage was gone, leaving in it's place a feeling of mild regret. I shouldn't have hurt these men so much. I knew that it was wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to feel more than that mild regret. They deserved what they'd gotten.

I wasn't sure how to respond to this, so I patted her on the back and shh'd a few times.

It was only then that I noticed it. Amid all the fighting and trying to fight like a human, albeit a very skilled one, I hadn't been paying attention to the far out surroundings.

Now, however, over the sound of the girls quiet sobs and the moaning of the men, I could hear a slight grating noise, like stone against stone.

Or stone-hard skin against stone.

Her scent reached me a split second before my head snapped up to the ware house.

There, in the exact same spot that I'd been in minutes before, crouched the small figure of Alice Cullen.

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the late update, but I made it a bit longer to make up for it.**

**Right now, it is 5:40 in the morning and I'm writing this for you guys, so you'd better appreciate it. Also, you should blame any mistakes on my lack of sleep.**

**Hope you enjoyed it.**

**R&R.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, folks, I hope that this chapter is up to your standard. Also to CyberAngelOne, the story is not on hold, I was just exceedingly lazy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella.**

APOV

I had been worrying for several hours, which isn't like me at all, about how to keep Bella safe in Port Angeles.

The obvious solution would be to follow her discreetly and watch from a distance. That way, if anything happened, for example Bella getting attacked by a rabid vampire, then I would be there to step in and help.

The problem with that, however, was that I had no idea about Bella's limitations. As much as I hated to admit it, I really didn't know much about this girl, except that she lived with a coven of vegetarian vampires and she wasn't human. And, of course, she liked to draw and paint, loved most types of music, had a really sweet disposition, was really polite, looked cute as hell when she bit her lip while thinking, she was funny and kind and...I am going way off point.

There was a chance that Bella could have spotted me, because she seemed to have better senses than humans. She also might have been able to take this vampire, if it was a vampire. Then again, she might not and I had decided to err on the side of caution.

Once I decided to go to Port Angeles to protect her, I had been trying to figure out the best way of tailing her when Edward made an unexpected suggestion.

"Why don't you just go shopping with them?" His voice was calm, as though he were suggesting having deer for dinner.

I opened my mouth to tell him about all of the problems associated with that course of action, when I really thought about it.

It was the perfect plan. Sure, she'd know that the reason I was going had something to do with her, but at least I wouldn't have to spy. Then again, either way she'd see me as some kind of stalker.

Edward smiled slightly. "As long as she's safe, who cares?" Always the logical one.

I looked at him gratefully. "Thanks Edward. I'm glad that you don't have a problem with this anymore."

He sighed. "If it's what you want, then I have no right to stop you and she did save Jasper from killing that girl. You know what that would have done to him" I saw the love for his mate in his eyes, something that I had always been jealous of. Maybe I wouldn't have to feel jealous of it anymore...

Hearing the direction of my thoughts, Edward looked at me fully. "Alice, I know that you care about her but I don't want to see you get hurt. She proved with Jasper that she means us no harm, but just remember that she might not feel the same way you do."

My expression fell and Edward hurried on. "Look, Alice, I'm only saying this because our powers don't work on that family for some reason and Jazz can't get a lock on her feelings. That doesn't mean that doesn't have any feelings for you, I have seen her watching you on occasion, but don't get your hopes up. Just in case." Clapping me on the shoulder, he got up to go help Esme in the garden. She had been stealing people left, right and centre and forcing them into servitude in her garden lately. Seeing as it was Esme, none of us could say no to her.

After that I had to call Angela out of the blue and try to convince her to let a total stranger like myself go on a shopping trip with them. That was a fun conversation.

I picked up the phone and dialled her number, which I acquired from the phone book that we get in every new town we go to.

It took about three rings before she answered. "Hello, Webber residence."

"Hi, I'm assuming that this is Angela?"

The voice on the other end, which was definitely Angela, paused before responding. "Yes. Who exactly is this?"

Here goes. "It's Alice. Alice Cullen."

This time the pause was at least ten seconds. "Alice? Um, why...what..er, is there something I can help you with?"

Her nervousness bothered me. I may be a vampire, but I didn't like how people always shied away from us, without giving us a chance. Not that we ever let them. Still, Angela was always a sweet person, never judgemental or rude, like so many other high-school girls. She'd also never come on to Edward or Jasper, something that was _very _rare. No one seemed to notice that they were gay, and if the girls did notice it, then they were in serious denial.

"I know that it's on such short notice and everything, but I heard that you and a few other people were going shopping in Port Angeles tomorrow for dresses and I was just wondering if you had room for one more?"

I could hear a thump on the other end and I assumed that she had dropped the phone. After a quick scramble and a few minor curse words, which was truly surprising, she responded, sounding slightly out of breath. "This other person would be you?"

I rolled my eyes, regardless of whether she could see it or not. "Yes. Like I said, I know that it's short notice and everything, but I really need to get a dress before all of the good ones are gone and you're going, so I thought..?" I trailed off, waiting for her response.

I had a brief vision of her saying yes two seconds before it became reality. "Of course you can come."

I smiled. "Thank you. Do you think that Bella and Jessica will be okay with this?"

Angela laughed. "I think that Bella will be fine and Jessica will have a heart attack. Although, after two years of trying to get a Cullen in her car, I don't think that you're what she had in mind."

I smiled, imagining the look on Jessica's face.

After she had calmed down, Angela asked me for directions, having absolutely no idea where I lived.

We had anticipated this and decided that it wouldn't do any harm for the humans to know where we lived, unless, of course, Jessica came over in a drunken stupor, begging Edward to give her a chance.

She seemed surprised by the amount of directions needed to get to our house. "Wow, um, I'll give these to Jessica. She's driving."

Snickering at Edwards groan from upstairs, I told her that I'd see her tomorrow before I hung up.

That was how it was decided that I would be accompanying these girls on their shopping trip. I thought of little else that night but the prospect of seeing Bella again. This would be the first time I'd seen her since the incident with Jasper and the van and I couldn't help but wonder how she'd react to seeing me.

It wasn't until the next morning that my nervousness caught up with me. I was waiting just inside the front door, not wanting to wait out in the rain, when I heard the sound of a car coming down our insanely long driveway.

I shuffled my feet and took a deep breath.

"Alice, dear, relax. It'll be fine." I turned to find Esme walking in from the living room, a reassuring smile on her face. Her knees were mud-stained and she carried a trowel in one hand.

I sighed. "I know. I honestly don't know why I'm so nervous."

Esme chuckled. "I have one or two guesses."

Raising an eyebrow, I crossed my arms. "Care to share."

Her face softened and she placed her hand on my arm. "You'll find out soon enough. All you have to worry about now is enjoying yourself."

"And protecting Bella from a ravenous vampire."

"Alice, we don't even know if it is a vampire. It could just be a string of animal attacks. Now stop worrying and get outside, they're here."

Realising that she was right and they were already outside, I gave her a quick, but firm hug, silently thanking her for her pep talk. I had always been the most touchy-feely person in our house, but Esme came in a close second. She returned the hug and gave me a small shove towards the door.

Taking one last deep breath, I opened the door and hopped down the step, throwing a wave over my shoulder.

Ignoring the two in the front seats, I focused my attention on Bella, who was waving at me mother with a smile on her face. She was a very polite individual and I couldn't help but smile slightly at her.

I hopped in the car and immediately noticed Bella tense, a slightly confused look on her face. I really hoped that she didn't mind too much that I was coming as well. Regardless, I wasn't leaving because she tensed up.

My natural excited state of mind couldn't be ignored for long.

I turned to face Bella, whose eyes shot to my face after looking at my outfit. Internally smiling at her reaction, I greeted her. "Hey Bella." Remembering the two in the front seat, I glanced at them. "Thank you for letting me tag along. I really appreciate it." Upon shutting the door, I realised that Bella hadn't moved over to give me space. Glancing over, I could see the cause of the problem, a derelict computer, that I highly doubt worked, was sitting on the far seat, limiting the space we had.

We were sitting really close together, and our arms were pressed together. The amount of warmth emanating from her was astounding. Had I not already known that she was something other than human, this would have made me believe that she had an incredibly high fever and was in need of a hospital. Or that she was about to spontaneously combust.

While I had noticed this before, the one and only time we had physical contact before this, the handshake when we first met, it hadn't been long enough for me to really take it into account. In all honesty, it was really quite pleasant.

Jessica merely nodded. From her face, it was obvious that she was in shock.

Angela looked back at us. "No problem, the more the merrier, right?" She noticed the lack of space and immediately became concerned. "You guys aren't too cramped back there, are you? Jess really needs to get that thing fixed today."

I looked at Bella just as she looked at me. "It's fine." We said in unison. I held her gaze for two seconds, golden meeting brown, before she looked away, a slight tinge on her cheeks.

Smiling internally once again at her reaction, I sat back and looked out the window. The rain was as persistent as ever, coating the car windows in a semi-opaque sheen. Despite the fact that rain was present in almost every town we moved to, which meant that I had seen almost one hundred years worth of it, I had always liked the rain. I mean, I liked the sun better, but the rain had a sense of beauty to it, each individual drop like a tear shaped diamond falling from the sky, giving life to plants and animals the world over.

I was focused on the rain, but I couldn't ignore the fact that Bella was right beside me. I hadn't expected conversation, so when she cleared her throat, I turned to her, curiosity plain on my face.

She looked extremely nervous and awkward, shifting slightly and avoiding direct eye contact. "So, er, how've you been?" Her voice was so low, that I wouldn't have been able to hear it if I weren't a vampire. As it was, Angela and Jessica wouldn't be able to eavesdrop.

I snapped my head around to face her in surprise. After three weeks avoiding me, why was she talking now? Did it have something to do with what happened to Jasper?

Despite my excitement over the fact that she was talking to me again, I still felt a little miffed about the whole thing. "Oh, I've been fine. I've also been ignored and avoided, but you already know that."

She winced visibly and I felt happy that my opinion of her mattered to her. "Listen, I'd like to apologise for my behaviour over the past few weeks. I just didn't know what else to do." I raised an eyebrow at her, not willing to believe that it would be so easy. She noticed this and quickly continued. "Really, I'm sorry."

Despite myself, I began to believe her, she just didn't seem like the kind of person to mess with me and she was genuinely sincere. "I guess I understand. I should probably thank you for what happened with Jasper, it was pretty risky for you." And it was. Diving in front of a charging vampire consumed by bloodlust wasn't something that I'd recommend if you wanted to live long.

"You're welcome. It was the least I could do."

I smiled cheerfully at her, deciding not to let her off the hook just yet. I said that I _should_ thank you, not that I did. Had you been nicer to me, then I would have, but now you get nothing."

I chuckled internally at the confused expression on her face. I had really missed talking with Bella and I was excited that she was beginning to trust me.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to make it up to you then."

Instantly, my mind was filled with images of week-long shopping excursions, with Bella carrying the bags and not being allowed to complain. From Bella's lack of enthusiasm whenever shopping was mentioned, I guessed that she wasn't as big a fan of shopping as I was, Then again, I don't think that anyone was as big a fan of shopping as I was.

I turned to look at her fully. "I'm sure I can find something for you to do to gain my forgiveness."

Her expression shifted to one of worry, as though realizing her mistake. It was common knowledge in my house that one had to jump through all kinds of hoops to get me to forgive them. That's why they generally avoided upsetting me, knowing that I could guilt-trip them into almost anything.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to regret saying that?"

I kept the grin on my face. "Don't worry about it now, Bella."

She frowned at my avoidance of her question. "Are you implying that I should worry about it later?"

"Maybe a little." No need to dissuade her fears too early.

"How much is a little?"

I pretended to think about her question, giving it serious consideration. "Less than buying a fallout shelter, but more than sleeping with both eyes closed at night." I absentmindedly wondered how difficult it would be to sneak past four unknown vampires to scare the crap out of a sleeping Bella. Then I wondered if she even slept.

"Ok, now you're worrying me." Mission accomplished.

As much as I enjoyed freaking her out, I had to get the answer to a question that had been bothering me to no end.

"You should be worried, but let's put thoughts of your impending doom behind us. I heard that you weren't going to the dance. Why not?"

"It just isn't something that I'm that interested in."

Not interested...My God, she was serious.

"But _why not? _It's a party. How can you not like parties?" My eyes widened as a new thought occurred to me. "Is it because you can't dance or something embarrassing like that?" I had been using dancing as a generality, something that humans avoided dances because of, not because I thought she couldn't dance. She didn't see it that way.

Her brow furrowed. "Why would you assume that I can't dance?"

"So you can dance?" It wasn't so much a question as a statement. I had seen her in gym, dodging balls and playing basketball and she was incredibly graceful in her movements. She would be a wonderful dancer.

She seemed to be about to say something when she stopped, a pensive look on her face.

"You know, I've never actually tried."

I felt my mouth drop open. How could she have never tried to dance? _Toddlers _danced. I blame my shock for not thinking about what I said next, before I said it. "You've _never _danced? At all? But you move so gracefully, you'd be a fabulous dancer."

I froze. While that comment wouldn't bother me were it directed at anyone else, saying it to Bella made me feel shy and embarrassed, two emotions that I'm not used to dealing with. Biting my lip, I turned away from her and the frozen look on her face.

She snickered. "So, you think I'm graceful?" Damn her, she was enjoying this way too much.

I shifted in my seat trying in vain to get rid of my embarrassment. "Well, um, yeah. I mean, we have gym together and you're really good and everything." Good God, I'm losing the ability to speak eloquently. How was she affecting me so much? I only called her graceful. If any of my family could see me now, the self-confident Alice, stuttering and looking like she would be blushing of she could, they'd fall over laughing and I'd never live it down.

From the corner of my eye, I could see her smile at me. "Thank you, Alice. You're pretty graceful yourself."

I smiled back at her, embarrassment forgotten. As I was about to respond, Jessica piped up in the front seat. "Ok guys, we're here. Time to go shopping."

Feeling a bubble of excitement explode in me, I threw myself out of the car, cursing the surrounding humans for making me go slowly. While I was well aware that I was here to look out for Bella, I was still determined to enjoy myself, an easy task when surrounded by clothes.

For a good few minutes Angela, Jessica and I got into an in depth conversation about the types of dresses we would need. While Bella was talking to me again, this particular conversation she avoided like the plague.

We went to a few of the closest dress stores and worked in teams. Angela and Jessica helped each other and Bella gave her opinion on each of the dresses I wore.

She ignored the other two and gave me her undivided attention, something that I was grateful for. I was even entertaining the idea that she didn't hate shopping after all, when I saw her expression glaze over. She was sitting in one of the leather chairs designed for friends of customers who aren't trying anything on, in front of the storefront window, hands clasped on her knees.

I was wearing one of my favourite dresses of the evening, a simple black number with silver design and I was waiting for her to say something. "So, Bella, what do you think?"

Her expression didn't change so I waved my hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention. I guess all of the shopping had bored her into a stupor.

She twitched slightly and looked at me. "It's a really beautiful dress and it looks great on you."

I smiled at her compliment. "Really? It looks okay?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Alice, it looks more than 'okay', it looks great. Now I command you to buy it." Her tone was firm, brooking no argument.

I thought of her hate of shopping and gave her a stern look. "You're not just saying that to get out of shopping, which you seem to hate, are you?"

She scoffed as though the very thought was ridiculous and not something that she'd been considering. "I don't _hate _shopping, I just dislike it immensely. And no, I'm not just saying it to get out of shopping. It really does look great."

I stayed looking at her, wondering how good a liar she was, before accepting her words as the truth. I smiled and nodded at her. "Okay, I'll get it."

Soon, Angela and Jessica came out in their own dresses. The former complimented my sincerely and the latter was trying to hide a scowl, and failing miserably. I smiled at Angela before heading into the dressing rooms to change.

After about ten minutes, I was back in the dressing room with five more dresses, Jessica in the stall next to me. I could hear Bella complaining to Angela that we'd already picked our dresses and inquire as to why we were still trying things on.

"They're shopaholics, Bella. It's all about the process." How right she was. Buying clothes was fun, but searching and trying them on was better.

I had just put on the last dress, a pale yellow number, and was looking at myself in the mirror out in the hall, when Jessica approached me.

I turned to her, a quizzical look on my face. Without Bella and Angela around, she didn't have to hide her scowl. "Is there something I can help you with, Jessica?"

"Oh, drop the polite act. You need to know that you tagging along is not appreciated."

My eyebrows drew down. I knew that she didn't like me, but I had no idea where this sudden animosity came from. "Have I offended you in some way?"

Her scowl deepened. "Like you don't know. He'll never go for you and he's mine so back off."

She didn't seem to notice that I had no idea what she was talking about. "Who the hell are you talking about?"

She looked at me as though I was an idiot. "Lee Van Allen, the only guy worth my attentions in school, now that I'm over your fag brother."

I briefly registered that she finally realised that Edward and Jasper were together before I burst out laughing. "Where...did...you...get t-that crap?" I choked out between giggles. The mere thought of Bella's brother in that way was hilarious. Sure, he was handsome, like all vampires, but it was his sister that I was interested in. This only made me laugh harder.

Jessica seemed offended by my outburst. "I've seen the way you two look at each other and I saw you talking in the hall last Monday."

I doubled over, clutching my sides, trying in vain to stop the giggles.

I had been looking at him because he was Bella's brother and I wanted to know about her family, he'd been looking at me because I was a strange vampire who'd an interest in his sister and we

had been talking in the hall because he'd wanted to know why Emmett kept grinning at him.

Somehow, I doubted Jessica would listen to that explanation, so I just said, "I hardly know the guy, he's all yours," before walking back into the dressing room to change back into my clothes. I should probably tell Bella about this and have her warn Lee. Honestly, after his first rejection you'd think that Jessica would get the message and lay off.

I was still chuckling when I walked into the main room, automatically looking for Bella.

She wasn't there.

I felt slight panic, cursing Jessica for distracting me. Spotting Angela at the entrance, I ran over to her.

She turned and looked at me, holding the bag with her dress in a loose grip. "Angela, do you know where Bella is?" I kept my voice level, she could just be in the bathroom, not out on the streets where there could be a homicidal vampire lurking in the shadows.

"She left about a minute ago, said that she had to go check out this bookstore and that it was closing soon. She'll meet us at the restaurant when she's done."

There was no reason why I should be so nervous. The chances that there was a vampire were slim and I'd only come just in case. Still, I wanted to make sure. "I know the store that she's talking about. I'm done here anyway and I've got plenty of shoes at home so I'll see you at the restaurant too."

"Sure." She said slowly, nodding.

I smiled at her before walking out of the store and taking in a deep breath. Something that I'd noticed about Bella, was that her scent, intoxicating as it was, dissipated amazingly quickly. Angela had said that she'd only left a minute ago, but the trail was already fairly faded. I turned in the direction of her scent and took off running at a human pace, eager to track her down.

I had been following the scent for about twenty seconds when it veered into an alleyway, where I lost it. Surprised and worried by that turn of events, I ran around the entire alley, trying to pick up the scent. Rubbish littered the side of the dark, grimy alley and almost masked the scent, but I finally found it, going up the side of the building.

Staring in shock at the wall, I backed up slightly. How did she go up the wall? Was it some ability or did she jump? I was acutely aware that I still had no idea what Bella was or what she was capable of.

I sighed, resigned and jumped upward, digging my hands and feet into the side of the building to propel myself upward, the concrete giving way easily under my strength. Flipping over the lip of the building, I landed in a crouch, testing the air for the elusive scent.

Once again picking up on it, I took off across the tops of the buildings, leaping across the gaps when they came, my feet silent on the cold bricks.

I had just gotten to the last building when I realised that I would have to vault across an empty street to follow the trail. What the hell was Bella doing? Steeling myself, I ran at the edge of the building and pushed off. There was a moment of weightlessness as I hung suspended over the street, before I landed on the other building with a slight thud.

At this point I could hear muted sobbing, which were not Bella's and I approached the edge of the building.

Crouching down, I looked the shadowed alley behind the warehouse and gasped in shock at the sight below me. Bella stood in the centre, surrounded by four men on the ground, two of which appeared to be knocked out, the other two moaning loudly. In her arms, was a young girl with her head buried in Bella's shoulder, sobbing quietly.

The scent of blood hit me full on, coming from at least three separate individuals down below, the sweet, intoxicating fragrance calling to me, luring me in with promises of satisfaction and fulfilment. The drum-beat of their hearts a symphony of temptation, causing the ever-present fire in the back of my throat to intensify and only my rigid control and force of will stopped me from jumping down and tearing the bleeding girl from her arms. While I wasn't the oldest in my family, I had the second best control, next only to Carlisle.

I moved slightly, leaning my hand on the lip of the roof, when Bella's head snapped up in my direction. Her eyes widened and she glanced at the men on the floor before bringing her gaze back up to meet mine. Even from up here I could read a myriad of different emotions on her face; shock, panic, fear, resignation and, oddly enough, relief.

The girl in her arms was still sobbing, repeating 'thank you' over and over again and from what I could tell, Bella had saved her from those men. This thought sent a strange burst of pride through me and my curiosity about the enigma that was Bella Van Allen only intensified.

Before either of us could do anything, the sound of three sets of running feet reached me and I saw Bella's head jerk in the direction it was coming from.

"Kasey! Kasey where are you?" The voice was male, with a hoarseness to it that implied a smoker. It was also close enough for the human girl to hear.

She gave the men on the ground a wary glance and seemed reluctant to cross over them to get out of the alley. She also seemed reluctant to leave Bella's arms, where she felt safe. Sniffling, she turned in Bella's grasp, keeping a firm hold on her arm, relief plain on her face. "Dad! Dad I'm back here, behind the warehouse!"

From my perch, I could see three people run around the corner of the warehouse, following the voice of the girl. The man, and the one who spoke, was in his early forties, with a light sprinkling of dark stubble, his muscular frame encased in a big black jacket and his green eyes immediately focusing on the girl called Kasey. As he ran forward, he seemingly noticed Bella behind her and then the men on the floor.

"Oh my God! Kasey, what happened? You're hurt!" This voice belonged to the woman at his side, her brown hair shifting in the slight breeze. Running forward, she pulled the girl, Kasey, into her arms, eying Bella warily. The man walked forward and faced Bella.

"What happened here? Who are these men and who the hell are you?" His voice was firm, obviously believing that she had some part in the events. The two men that were still conscious tried to get up but a glare from Bella made them quickly sit back down, fear in their faces. The man who I'm assuming was Kasey's father, noticed this and looked more closely at her.

Kasey pulled away from her mother slightly and looked at her father. "Dad, it's okay. Those men attacked me," her mother gasped and her father's face twisted in rage, levelling a solid glare at one of the men, causing him to scramble backward, holding his chest in pain, "but she saved me. It was amazing, she took all four of them down."

He looked back at Bella, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable, with new respect. "This true? You saved my little girl?"

Bella shifted her feet slightly and cleared her throat. "Um...yes sir."

He took a deep breath, stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you."

His wife wasn't satisfied with a pat on the shoulder, instead she grabbed Bella in a fierce hug. In any other circumstance, I would have laughed at the look on Bella's face, a mixture of shock and confusion. She cleared her throat again and patted her on the shoulder, her movements that of someone unused social interaction. "Ah...you're welcome?" Her statement came out as more of a question.

The man put his hand out to Bella, who shook it around the woman who still refused to let her go. "I'm Tony O'Malley. This is my wife, Fran, our daughter Kasey and this is our son, Mark." The final member of the family was a boy of about sixteen, with dark hair and grey eyes. He stood back from the others, but watched his sister in concern, gaze flickering towards Bella often.

"I'm Isabella Van Allen."

After giving her a grateful smile, which faded when his eyes skimmed over the leader of the group, Tony turned around and faced his son. "Mark, call the police will ya. Tell them what happened and give 'em directions." The men on the floor started to panic, only the threat of Bella kicking their asses keeping them from bolting. Mark pulled out a cell phone and dialled, waiting only a second before someone picked up.

Bella's eyes widened and she glanced around, her gaze landing on me. "Um...I really should be going, I need to meet up with some friends and I'm running late." Managing to get out of Fran's arms, she took a step back.

"Wait. You need to give a statement to the police and tell them what happened, you're a witness." Tony said, putting a protective arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"Well, see, I really need to go, so maybe you could just contact me later and we'll sort it out then." She took another step backwards before he called out again.

"Well, I suppose that's fine, but I'll need to give the police your number."

Sighing, she gave him her house number to give to the police when they arrived. As she was about to walk off, she glanced to the men on the ground. Crouching down, she looked the still-conscious leader in the eye and spoke so quietly that the humans wouldn't be able to hear. "I'm going to go now. You are going to wait for the police without making a fuss. If you do cause this family any more problems, I will hunt you down and most likely castrate you, you sick, perverted man. Also, there is a very angry father standing over you and you can barely stand up, so I would just lay here quietly and not move if I were you, or you'll be in even more trouble than you are now. Understand?" Her voice was filled with such malice, so unlike the Bella that I'd come to know, that the man had leaned backwards as she leaned forwards in an attempt to get away from her.

"Y-yes, we're clear." His eyes were wide and his breaths were coming in short gasps.

She smiled, clapping him on the shoulder and stood up. "Good boy."Glancing once more at the family, she turned and walked towards the warehouse that I was sitting on, raising a hand to acknowledge the thanks still coming from the family. Her steps were quick and she obviously wanted to get away from them. Ducking into the alley in between the two buildings, I heard her sigh.

"You followed me?" Spinning around, I crouched down before recognising Bella, standing to the roof five feet away from me, arms folded with a questioning look on her face.

Rising from my crouch, I shifted my feet, much like she had done down below only moments before. "Um...yes. But it's not what you think."

Her eyebrow rose.

"I'm serious. I'm not some crazy stalker. I mean, I know that it may seem like that, seeing as I followed you half way across town and was spying on you from the rooftop but there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for my behaviour. I really don't-"

"Alice." Her tone was slightly amused. I stopped rambling and looked at her. "Alice, I know that there's a reasonable explanation for this. I...trust you." That last bit seemed to surprise even her. Walking over to the edge of the building, she crouched down and looked at the people below. "I don't, however, trust _them,_ so I'm going to wait for the police." She turned her head and met my gaze. "While I'm waiting, why don't you tell me that reasonable explanation."

Relieved that she didn't freak out, I crouched down beside her and watched Kasey kick one of the downed men, only to be half-heartedly restrained by her father, who looked tempted to follow her example.

"I don't know if your family heard, but there have been some deaths near Port Angeles recently. We can't be one hundred percent sure, but it seems to be vampire related based on the reports."

She didn't respond, merely waited. "And you came here because..?"

I sighed. "Well, if it was a vampire and it was still around, well, you have a very distinctive scent and I was worried that it might, you know, attack you or something." I finished, my gaze dropping to the roof top.

There was a noticeable pause, only broken by the distant sounds of police sirens. "You came to protect me?" I nodded. "Even though I've been incredibly rude to you recently?" I nodded again, still looking down.

When she didn't reply for a few seconds, I glanced up at her from under my lashes.

Her eyes were on me and I was shocked to see that they were slightly damp. She blinked a few times and cleared her throat. "Well, um...thank you." This close, her amazing scent washed over me and I started slightly when I noticed that it soothed my throat, still burning from the blood below. I took a deep breath, still expecting my thirst to kick in but more of her scent washed in. It was like the Quileute's, but where their scent repulsed us to the point where we lost our appetite, Bella's was like water being poured on a fire. Her scent had never affected me like this before...

I put this amazing discovery at the back of my mind, to be thought about later. We didn't speak again for a while, both watching as the police came and rounded up the four thugs, asking the family some basic questions. I could hear the entire story as Kasey told it to the police. As I suspected, those assholes had tried to rape her and they would have succeeded had Bella not come along and 'incapacitated' them, as one of the police officers put it. When she heard her name being mentioned, Bella tensed up slightly and sighed. "Way to lay low Bella," I heard her mumble under her breath. I really hoped that this didn't cause any problems for her in the future.

We waited until the police and the family left to go to the station for a more thorough interrogation before standing up. Walking over to the edge, I watched as she glanced at me once before jumping off the side of the warehouse, landing soundlessly below, the distance not bothering her in the slightest.

Looking down and seeing that she was waiting for me, I stepped off the side and landed next to her, neither of us saying anything.

We started walking back in the direction of the city centre, listening to the sirens fading in the distance.

"How long have we been gone?" she asked, obviously thinking of Angela and Jessica.

I looked at my watch. "About an hour. They should be at the restaurant by now, that is, if they haven't eaten already and gone to find us."

It took us about three minutes walking at a human pace to get to the restaurant, a small, brightly lit affair called La Bella Italia, which I found amusing. Angela and Jessica were both outside, looking at their watches and pacing nervously. Well, Angela was nervous, Jessica was just annoyed.

We both ran towards them, appropriately apologetic looks on our faces. Jessica stepped forwards, shooting me a dirty look. "Where have you guys been? We've been waiting for ages. We had to eat without you."

"We're so sorry. We got lost and it took us a while to find someone to ask for directions." I made my voice sound breathless, as though I had been running around.

Jessica looked at me suspiciously. "Well, we can't wait for you guys to eat, we gotta get home."

"Jessica! That was rude." Angela hissed. She looked over at us, a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry guys, but she's right, we really don't have time. I know it's only six o'clock, but I promised my parents that I'd be home by seven."

I looked over at Bella. We'd been in town for a good few hours now and she must be hungry. "It's no problem, it's our fault for keeping you waiting. But, if it's okay with Bella, we could always grab something to eat and take a cab home."

Bella turned to me, a surprised look on her face. A small smile spread across her face. She knew full well that I didn't have to eat. "Yeah, I'd like that."

I smiled, happy that I'd get to have a real conversation with her again.

Angela glanced between the two of us. "You sure you're okay with this?" We both nodded, still smiling. "Okay. I guess we'll see you on Monday then." She was about to turn away when she seemed to remember something. "Oh, Alice, I almost forgot. You left your dress in the store. Here."

She held out the black bag containing my dress and I took it from her gratefully. I can't believe I forgot an item of clothing that I just bought. Never in all my years has that happened. Shaking my head in wonder, I thanked Angela and watched as they both headed to the car park, Jessica's heels making an annoying clacking sound because they were a size too big for her. That had been annoying me all day.

"So, Alice, what are you hungry for?" I turned to Bella, whose smile was still in place.

"I wouldn't mind a bear."

She eyed the restaurant. "Somehow, I don't think they sell those here. We could always try McDonalds. God only knows what they put in those burgers."

I laughed. "Oh, shut up. Now, what do _you _want to eat? Or would you prefer to run around beating up more people?"

"Well, if I had the choice..." She trailed off, the serious look on her face only ruined by the slight curve of her lips.

I smacked her on the shoulder lightly.

"Okay, okay, no need to resort to violence." She looked at the restaurant again. Shaking her head, she seemed to think of something. Gently, she took my hand and guided me down the street.

I went along with her, enjoying the feel of my hand in hers way more than I should. "Where are we going?"

"I saw this beautiful boardwalk by the bay earlier and I'd really like a pretzel. You in?" I gave her a look. "The boardwalk, not the pretzel."

I smiled at her and she smiled back. "Sure. It's a date."

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay in updating, I got lazy. This is officially my longest chapter ever, so be proud of me, I did this for you guys 'cause I took so long.**

**For those of you who want to know, the romance will be coming soon but I want it to be natural and progress in its own time, so don't rush me.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. R&R.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Okay, next chapter up and running.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella. If I did own Twilight, which I don't, Alice and Bella would be together...*sigh***

**Really sorry for the late update, but I need to be in a certain frame of mind to write and it takes time. Also, I'm getting my leaving cert results soon and I'm panicking slightly, not to mention the fact that my cousin keeps stealing the laptop...**

APOV

We had been walking together for about three minutes, Bella still blushing slightly from my 'date' comment and me still internally smacking myself for letting that slip out. After she realised that I was following, Bella had let go of my hand and I was already missing the warm touch.

I still couldn't help but be curious about her reaction. Blushing wasn't exactly uncommon for her, but the look she gave me before succumbing to the awkwardness was one that I couldn't decipher. In the temporary privacy of my own mind, I truly wished that it was hope that I had seen in that brief moment.

I sighed quietly, thinking about Edward's words. He was right; I shouldn't get my hopes up over nothing, not even a phantom-hopefulness in her eyes.

It was nearly full dark out now and the streetlights had turned on, bathing their surroundings in a warm yellow glow, casting shadows from objects such as cars, trees and the few people who were walking along the street with us. More than a few of them looked at us. I focused on the shadow that Bella threw, moving in sync with her, just as graceful as she was. Streetlights had never been my favourite things, they were too artificial, but now I could see the beauty of them. I had no doubt that Bella was responsible for my newfound appreciation. Everything just seemed so much better when she was around.

"I would start an extremely interesting conversation with you, but I have no idea what to say." Her voice broke me out of my revere, soft in the encroaching darkness. "Besides, you seem very interested in the ground right now; I'd hate to distract you."

I looked up from her shadow, facing the real thing, an amused expression on my face. "We do seem to be at an impasse of sorts when it comes to conversation right now, don't we?"

She seemed to be thinking about something, eyes tilted up and to the left. After about a second, she seemed to come to a decision, turning her head to face me. "Okay then, ask me a question and we'll go from there."

I was so tempted to ask the question that had been on my mind ever since I met her: What are you? That probably wouldn't go over too well and while I still hoped that she would tell me eventually, I wanted her to trust me enough to tell me in her own time. It wouldn't mean the same if she told me because she was forced to. I also didn't want to start our conversation with questions about tonight's events. So instead, I settled on something nice and simple that was easily answered. "What CD do you have in your CD player right now?"

She scoffed. "_That's _your question?"

I gave her a menacing look. "Don't question my questions. Now, answer me. I wouldn't want to have to force it out of you."

She chuckled slightly before sighing in resignation. "Celine Dion."

Now it was my turn to chuckle. "Celine Dion?"

Her voice became defensive."What? She's a legitimate artist, not to mention a really talented one." I chuckled again and she turned to face me. "Oh shut up. It's my turn. What's your favourite colour?"

"And you honestly thought that my question was lame?" She didn't respond, just continued looking at me. "Fine. My favourite colour is yellow, but I also like blue. Yours?"

"I like green, but I love blue and grey." I saw her look up at the sky, an emotion I couldn't read in her eyes.

"Grey? Who likes grey? That has to be the most boring colour of all time."

She scowled at me. "Hey, you told me not to question your questions, now I'm telling you not to question my answers." She faced forwards, arms crossed over her chest. "Besides, yellow is an ostentatious colour that only looks respectable on plants, and even then I assure you that those would be the most in-your-face plants in the whole garden."

I scowled back at her. "Yellow is a beautiful colour, I'll have you know."

She scoffed. "Oh, please. That would be the colour of the floor if SpongeBob were to get drunk and hurl all over it." At my expression, she smirked. "Yeah, not such a pretty colour now, is it?"

"Firstly, SpongeBob would never get drunk; he has more principles than that. Secondly, if you don't stop insulting my colour, I'm going to throw a nice bucket of SpongeBob-vomit yellow all over you." What she probably didn't know is that I would gladly do it, if only for the look on her face.

She gave me a look of mock horror, and then seemed to think about something. "I'd threaten to dye all of your clothes grey but I'm fairly certain that that would result in a slow and painful death for me and a mental breakdown for you and that's something that neither of us wants."

The look of horror that I gave her was in no way mocking. "How could that thought have even entered your head? It's...it's...a crime to even think about it, a pure sin to even contemplate it." I was having trouble getting my words out, images of all-gray clothing playing out before my eyes. I shivered visibly and Bella laughed, a sound that flowed from her mouth and wrapped around me, causing a warm feeling to settle in the pit of my stomach. I should really get her to laugh more.

She continued laughing and I was so focused on the sound that I almost didn't notice the highly amused glances that she was throwing my way. "What?"

She shook her head, still chuckling. "Why does it not surprise me that you watch SpongeBob?"

"What? It's a legitimate TV show, not to mention a really funny one." I stated, throwing her words back at her.

She raised her hands in defeat, brown eyes twinkling in amusement. "Ok, I give. SpongeBob is an amazing show that deserves recognition."

I smiled in triumph. "Damn right it is. You know, this would go a lot smoother if you just accepted the fact that I'm right about everything."

She raised an eyebrow at me, deftly avoiding the puddles that were littering the pot-hole laden street. We were getting closer to the bay, the scent of salt-water permeating the air, street lights left behind as we made for more populated areas, where shop windows provided all the lights needed for humans to see by. "Don't let my acknowledgement of your superior television know-how go to your head."

"Oh, Bella, it's way too late for that."

She widened her eyes. "Oh dear Lord, what have I done? I can practically see your ego inflating, like a giant balloon of arrogance."

"A giant balloon of arrogance? I'm going to choose to be insulted by that and retaliate accordingly." I looked her up and down, trying to find something to insult her about. She continued walking, waiting for my no-doubt lame comeback. Realising that I couldn't think of anything, I resorted to simple measures. "You're childish and I refuse to stoop to your level."

She gave me a look. "I'm childish? Says the girl who watches SpongeBob."

"I thought we agreed that SpongeBob was awesome?"

She shrugged. "Doesn't mean I can't make fun of you for it. Besides, I was always more of a Power Ranger kinda girl myself."

While I normally would have made fun of her for that little nugget of information, my mind went in a totally different direction, choosing instead to imagine Bella in one of those tight spandex outfits. It was at times like these that I was very glad I couldn't blush.

"We're almost there." Bella's soft voice broke me out of my revere for the second time that night, this one a little less innocent than the last one. This was something that I was wholly unprepared for. Bella was affecting me a lot more than I would care to admit.

We came into a more shopping-oriented area, people dotting the street and carefully cultivated plants lining the entrances to the shops off to the side. It was a cheerful place, the kind of place I could happily spend hours to the exclusion of all else, including whining family members begging me to go home. The shop windows cast light onto the street, creating a dome of illumination within the darkness, wares of all kinds on display to entice customers.

I looked around me at all of the different stores, my natural impulse to shop coming back full force. "You know, if I didn't need to feed you, I'd go in to that store and buy something. I _love_ their merchandise."

She looked up from where she had been watching a pigeon and glanced in the direction I was looking at. Suddenly her eyes widened and a blush spread across her face. She coughed slightly and looked away.

Confused by her reaction, I looked back at the scented candle store I had been contemplating. Looking back at Bella, I saw her eyes flicker towards me, then to the store directly beside the candle shop. _Victoria's Secret _was written above the door in an elegant cursive, mannequins in the windows showing samples.

My head snapped in Bella's direction, then back to the lingerie store. She thought..? Embarrassment welled up in me to such an extent that had I been able to, I'd have been as red as a tomato. "Um...I...uh...meant the candle store. I like candles, especially scented candles, they smell nice and I like smelling nice things, like candles." I was babbling, but I couldn't seem to stop. Why didn't I specify the freaking store I was talking about? My voice was higher than normal and I could tell that my eyes were a little wide.

Bella's blush deepened. "Sorry, my mistake."She smiled sheepishly and by unspoken agreement, we didn't speak of it again, both lapsing into an uncomfortable silence.

That didn't mean that I didn't think about it. Bella's reaction was just like before, due to two things that seemed to have a deeper meaning to her. That small seed of hope that had been there from the start beginning to grow.

As we walked, I noticed that the stones beneath our feet had given way to dark wooden planks, fluorescent window lights being replaced with long strings of fairy lights, travelling down the length of the boardwalk, which had several vendors and a mere handful of people. Like everywhere else in this town, there were plants at regular intervals, coinciding with the wooden posts that held the guard-rails in place.

Bella smiled. "We're here."

"It's beautiful," I said, staring at the twinkling of the lights and the ripples of water on either side of the wooden structure.

"Yeah, beautiful," Bella murmured from behind me, her voice taking on a strange tone. I turned, looking at her curiously and she averted her eyes, looking around the boardwalk before her gaze landed on one of the vendors. Grinning, she grabbed my hand and shot forward, tugging me along with her. The feel of her warm hand around my freezing cold one sent a slight shiver up my spine. The good kind.

A laugh bubbled up and out of my mouth when I saw her eager expression and realized that she was heading straight for the pretzels. "Eager little thing, aren't you?" She glanced back at me, managing to tear her eyes away from the baked goods.

"They're pretzels," she said, as though that were explanation enough.

We reached the counter a moment later, Bella almost hopping up and down in her excitement. Much to my surprise and pleasure, she loosened her hand but didn't let go, allowing me to release it if I wanted to. _Calm down, Ali_ce. _Some people are just naturally touchy-feely, _you're _touchy-feely it probably doesn't mean anything. _

The man behind the counter was in his early fifties, with steel-grey hair and a happy smile. I had no idea that selling pretzels was such a rewarding job. "Hello girls. What can I get you?"

Bella, grin still firmly in place, looked up at the old pretzel-vendor. "Hello, sir. Could I get a soft-dough pretzel with a sprinkling of icing sugar and a honey glaze, please?"

"Sure thing. That'll be one-fifty and it'll take a minute."

Bella gave him the money one-handed, her other hand still loose but unmoving.

The vendor accepted the money, gave out her change and proceeded to make the pretzel, which Bella watched with avid interest.

I chuckled, which caused both Bella and the pretzel vendor to look at me. "You really like pretzels, don't you?"

Bella looked back at the pretzel. "Of course. They're the best baked goods out there."

The vendor smiled. "A woman after my own heart. Here you go. Enjoy." He held out a large, lightly brown knot of cooked dough and a white napkin. Bella took it and thanked him, walking back out into the centre of the boardwalk.

I watched in fascination as she bit into the pretzel and closed her eyes in appreciation.

"Good?"

She nodded, still in pretzel heaven and, consequently, unable to talk.

We continued walking, fairy lights casting everything in a gentle glow, so very different from the harsh light of the street lamps from earlier. Some of the things that I had noticed about Bella from weeks of watching her, (in a non-stalker-ish kind of way of course), was that she was an incredibly slow eater. She took very small bites and gave them her full attention. It was amusing to watch, to say the least.

I gestured towards one of the wooden benches that littered the boardwalk and Bella nodded, angling towards it. We sat down, watching the waves swell and recede, swirling around the wooden poles and crashing against the small rocks.

Relaxing against the back, I watched Bella finish the last few bites of the pretzel before asking her a question that had been on my mind since the incident in the alley. "What happened tonight, it's not going to cause you any problems, is it?" The police knew her name and she was a witness to a crime, not to mention the fact that she had beaten up the perpetrators.

She sighed. "Not really, no. It's similar to your father working at the hospital. I mean, there'll be files about him and the state has his name and everything. Like him, any background info I give will be fake and the police will be more focused on the victim and the criminals. After I give my statement, I'm not obliged to do anything. Once we eventually move towns, we'll change our back-stories. My family has done it lots of times, just like yours, although I myself am still new to it."

I chose not to think about Bella leaving town in a few years, or the fact that I'd have to do the same. And what did she mean, 'still new to it'? How old was she? And how long had she been with the Van Allen's? Then something else occurred to me. "Why do you sound like you've done this before?"

"Um...cause I have. It's not like I'm a vigilante or anything, I don't go out looking, but if I see someone in trouble, I'll help. And it was only two other times, both of which were in the same town."

"And that's not going to be noticed by the police in this town?"

"No. It was in a different state altogether and police officers of differing states stay out of each other's business in simple cases like this. It's all about proper jurisdiction or some such, they won't even look because it's not something someone would think to check and they have no reason to."

I nodded, relieved that this wasn't going to cause any problems for her. She had done the right thing, saving that girl from a traumatizing experience and she shouldn't have to regret it. "And your family? If I'm not over-stepping my bounds, may I ask if they'll take this news well or not?"

She smiled. "You don't seem to have any bounds, Alice." She looked out towards the water, thinking. "In all honesty, they'll think that I did the right thing. I mean, they did want me to lay low and I want the same thing, but they'll understand that I really didn't have a choice. I couldn't just...let it happen. And the only reason that I gave my real name and number was because I was the only witness other than the girl. Running away from the scene would have caused even more problems, for me and Kasey. Besides," she looked back over at me, "They're the ones who taught me to do the right thing. They raised me to be a good person and they would have done the same in my position. All of them have a strong sense of right and wrong."

I listened with interest as Bella talked about her family, but one thing that she had said jumped out at me. "When you say 'raised me', what do you mean by that, exactly?"

She began to look slightly uncomfortable and I quickly backtracked. "Never mind, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

She was silent for so long that I thought she had decided not to answer me, but then she spoke, her voice soft, yet sounding sure. "I joined the Van Allen family when I was about one month old, give or take a few days and I've been with them ever since."

I stared at her, her revelation totally unexpected. She joined a coven of vampires when she was one month old? What the hell happened to cause such an event and where were her biological parents? I was insanely curious about the events leading up to her joining her family, but I knew better than to push her on the matter. When and if she was ready to talk, she would.

"That was very kind of your family, you all must be very close," I observed.

She smiled, expression reminiscent. "Yeah, they're great. My parents always wanted children, even when they were human but they became vampires before that could happen. When they chose to raise me, they got their chance." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Although, couple vampire and maternal instincts and you get very overprotective parents. And not just parents, Jesse and Lee are really protective too. I'm still the kid of the family and I've spent my entire life with them, so I guess I can understand but it can be annoying at times."

I could understand too. If my family were to raise someone from infancy, we'd all be insanely protective, especially Esme and Rosalie. Just thinking about that made me realise how much Bella likely meant to her family.

"That must have been an...interesting childhood." I couldn't imagine spending my childhood with vampires, not that I could actually remember my childhood, but still.

Bella laughed, a carefree sound. "Interesting is one way of putting it."

"Could you tell me a bit about them, your family I mean? It's not exactly often that we come across another vegetarian vampire coven."

She released my hand and I watched her fold the napkin left over from her pretzel in exact lines before she responded. "Like I said, my family are great. I have great respect for them, and for you and your family, for the choices that you all made." She smiled and looked over at me. "It was actually stories of your father that made my parents choose this lifestyle." At my raised eyebrow, she continued, beginning to tear at the napkin. "They were already married when they were turned and they spent about a year feeding on humans, not knowing that there was an alternative and still in their newborn phase. They ran into a nomad, the first vampire that they met other than the one who changed them, and he told them a bit more about vampires, which included stories about the mysterious 'golden-eyed vampire', Carlisle Cullen. As soon as they realised that they could live off animals, they left populated areas behind and went into the wilderness until they had enough control to walk among humans."

"It would really mean a lot to Carlisle for him to know that he was responsible for your parents' lifestyle choice. He always wanted vampires to see that there was another way."

She smiled. "And it would really mean a lot to my parents to meet the man that changed their life. Heck, even Jesse and Lee would behave themselves if he was around."

I thought about Bella's two siblings and how close they seemed and asked another question that I had been thinking about for a while. "Are Jesse and Lee mated?"

"Yes. I know they act more like siblings with a serious rivalry, but they really love each other and when the chips are down, they'll drop their joking attitudes and do anything to protect their family and each other. It may seem like all they do is goof around, much like your brother, but Lee is actually pretty serious until Jesse is around to corrupt him." She grinned. "Mom and Dad have their hands full with them. Then again, they're not exactly the most stereotypical of parents. Clare has a very diverse interest range and does something new in every town, from bank manager to dance instructor. She's also one of the best paint-baller's around. And Micheal, he's very art-oriented. He loves painting, but his real passion is stone-carving. He sells his pieces for a fair sum and sometimes gets commissions for work."

I smiled at the descriptions of her family. While she was talking about them she had a content and happy look on her face, showing that she cared a great deal about them.

I thought about my own family and how close we were. They knew that I wanted to be Bella's friend, but only Edward knew that I wished for more. I genuinely hoped that they wouldn't mind, not that anything would happen between us, but still.

"So what about you?"

"What?"

"What's your family like?"

I grinned, eager for Bella to hear about my family. "They're fantastic. Carlisle and Esme are the best parents I could hope for and the only ones I'd ever want. Esme is the sweetest person in the world, but if push comes to shove, she's very protective and a ferocious fighter, kinda like a mamma bear. Despite that, she abhors violence, just like Carlisle. And Carlisle, well, he's the kind of person who you respect whether you like him or not, and most people do like him. He's brilliant and always tries to solve problems through talking, which actually works more often than not."

I looked at Bella and saw the curiosity in her gaze, the way she had leaned towards me ever so slightly. "And what about your siblings? I didn't interact with them much and I'm ashamed to admit that I spent all of my biology classes studiously ignoring Edward."

I laughed. "I know, he's complained about that a lot."

Bella winced, looking at me apologetically. "Yeah, could you tell him that I'm sorry about that? Actually, on second thought, I'll tell him myself, he deserves that much."

"Don't worry about it, he understands your reasoning. And about my siblings, well, they're very different, but I love them for it. Emmett's the joker of the family and I suspect he'll get along well with your sister. He may come across as all brawn and no brain, but he's actually quite intelligent underneath it all and he does have his serious moments, although they are few and far between. In all honesty, he realises that in a tense situation, laughter can help relieve the pressure, so he's taken it upon himself to be the comic relief."

Bella laughed. "I did notice that. Let me guess, he loves to wrestle?"

Her question caught me off guard and I turned to look at her. "He's practically in love with it. How did you know?"

She laughed again. "Lee says he's been sizing him up and won't stop grinning at him."

I sighed, shaking my head. "That sounds like Emmett. He won't do anything until he gets an ok from your brother, but he's been talking about whether or not he could take him for a while now. Honestly, if Rosalie wasn't around he'd get into all kinds of trouble"

At the mention of my surly sister, Bella's interest perked up and she raised an eyebrow. "I've seen Rosalie around and she seems...annoyed."

"That's just the way her face falls. And she sort of is annoyed most of the time, but once you get to know her, she's a real softy."

At this, Bella gave me a sceptical look. "Okay, she seems like an ice queen, and she kinda is, but when she's alone with people she trusts, her true self comes out and she's just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. It may take a while, but once you gain her trust and friendship, she'll do almost anything to protect you. She may not have many, but the friends she does have, she values highly."

Bella grinned. "That's nice to know. She's a bit intimidating."

Truer words were never spoken. Rosalie was very intimidating to most of the people around her, her family being the only exception, but I knew that it was only because she was jealous of the humans. As of yet, she wasn't sure how to act towards Bella. She wasn't jealous, because Bella wasn't human and while Bella might be a threat, she had helped keep our secret when she stopped Jasper. This had lead to conflicting emotions within Rosalie and she was now okay with my wanting a friendship with Bella because she already knew our secret and had reason to protect it. How she'd react to my wanting more than friendship with Bella, I had no idea.

"And what about the rest of them?"

"Then there's Jasper and Edward. Jasper isn't only my brother, he's my best friend. We were travelling together for a few years before we found the Cullen's. In fact, they thought that we were mated when we first showed up." I chuckled, remembering how Jasper and I had looked at each other and burst out laughing when they asked that question, not to mention Edward's satisfied smile. He was smitten from the first moment he'd laid eyes on his future mate. "Jasper was a soldier when he was human and some of it carried over. He seems stoic most of the time, but he knows how to have fun when the mood strikes him. He's also an amazing strategist and could talk for hours about the Civil War, so don't get him started. Edward can be an ass at times, but he means well. He thinks things through before taking any course of action, something that Emmett makes fun of him for, but then again, Emmett can make fun of anything."

Bella regarded me with another curious look, the napkin still in her hand. It looked like she was making something. "You and Jasper do seem really close. So you guys never had a thing?"

"No, Jasper was only ever a friend for me."

She stayed looking at me, her gaze intense and a tiny blush on her face. "If you don't mind my asking, why not? I mean, if you guys were so close and all, not to mention the fact that he's not a bad looking guy. Did you not consider him because he was gay, or was it something else?"

I froze. Should I tell her that it was because I liked girls? Would she freak out or would she be okay with it? Despite my fear, I came to the realisation that she would no doubt find out eventually and it might as well come from me. My voice, when I spoke, came out small and quiet. "Not exactly. Jasper is a great guy but I was never interested in him, or any other...male for that matter."

My brief hesitation before I said 'male' was enough. Bella's eyes widened and her blush became more pronounced. But it was her eyes that I was focused on. I saw a myriad of emotions swirling in their brown depths; shock, confusion, thoughtfulness and...hope? I couldn't dwell on the emotion. For all I knew, it was just my mind showing me what I wanted to see and I wouldn't lose this new friendship by scaring Bella off.

"Oh, in that case, I feel sorry for the male population of the world," was all she said, looking me in the eyes, before hopping up and glancing down at me once again, a slight smile on her face. "Come on. Let's go for a walk." Her words made me grin like an idiot, but I couldn't seem to stop.

I stood up and fell into step beside her, thankful that she hadn't made a big deal out of my admission. She raised her hand, a white object resting on it. The napkin had been folded into the form of a graceful bird, delicate wings outstretched. I watched in delight as the wind caught it and lifted it into the air, carrying it out towards the horizon. "You know origami?"

"Yeah, it's something I picked up over the years. I find it interesting."

I stayed watching the paper bird until it disappeared from sight, amazed that it was so well constructed that it could fly for so long. As soon as it was gone from our sight, we began walking again. There was still so much that I didn't know about Bella and every day something new came to light, unexpected but appreciated by me none the less. She was such a fascinating individual.

We had only entered the boardwalk and we had a ways to go yet until we reached the end. Going at a slow pace, we began walking down the wooden construct, the sound of languid waves loud in the night.

I watched Bella from the corner of my eye. She was looking straight ahead, eyes focused on something in the distance. The light of the now full moon bathed her face and I was once again struck by how beautiful she was. Her long, flowing chestnut locks cascading around her face and down her back, her deep brown eyes shining, her full lips parted slightly, giving a glimpse of perfect white teeth. She glanced at me and I looked away, embarrassed at having been caught staring.

The silence was interrupted by the harsh shriek of a ringtone. Bella jumped, startled by the loud noise and I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on her face. She stuck her hand into the front pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cell phone. She glared at the offending machine before flipping it open and pressing it to her ear. "Hello."

I could hear Jesse's voice on the other end. "Hey, Bella. Just got a call from Angela telling us of your late night activities." I could practically hear the grin in her voice. "Bet you're glad I made you dress up now, huh?"

Bella blushed and her gaze darted to me before she looked away. "Is there a specific reason that you called, Jess?"

Jesse's voice took on a tone of mock hurt. "What, a girl can't just call her little sister to see how her dat-" The remainder of her sentence was cut off by a harsh sound from Bella that resembled a cough but was most likely some obscenity. "Jeeze, nasty cough ya got there Bells. Maybe Alice could make it better by ki-" Just like before, Bella cut her off before she could finish her sentence, but this time it was by throwing her phone into the water, a slightly panicked look on her face. She kept walking as though nothing had happened, hands behind her back, eyes a tiny bit too wide.

I looked from her to the water. "Um, Bella? Why did you just throw your phone into the water?"

She didn't look at me, just kept walking. "It was getting old. I was going to get a new one soon anyway." So she decided to throw her old one in the sea? It was obvious that Jesse was about to say something embarrassing for Bella that she didn't want me to hear, so I let it go. I was insanely curious, but I let it go.

I noticed that Bella kept shooting me looks full of curiosity, clearly wanting to ask a question but afraid of offending me. "Whatever you want to ask, go ahead."

She looked away again, an embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry. It's stupid anyway and it's none of my business."

"Bella, whatever it is, it's probably not going to bother me."

She waited for a moment, watching me cautiously. "Um, well, you don't have to answer, but I was just wondering...how old you were?"

I grinned. "Afraid of asking a woman her age, huh?"

She sighed in relief, grateful that I wasn't offended. "Something like that."

"Well, to answer your question, I was born in 1901 and was turned into a vampire in 1920. Physically, I'm nineteen, but I'm really one hundred and nine years old."

"Wow. You must have seen some pretty amazing things in your life."

"Yeah, that's true." I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, once again curious about when she joined her family. "And you? How old are you?"

"I'll be eighteen in three months."

We had reached the end of the board walk and we both looked out into the darkness, gazing at the rippling waves. I chuckled. "Ha, you're not even a legal adult yet. You can't even buy alcohol!"

"I don't even know if I can _get _drunk, why would I need to buy alcohol?"

I stared at her. "You've never tried to get drunk?" She shook her head. "You are one weird twenty-first century teenager."

She gave me a disbelieving look. "I was raised by _vampires_. What exactly did you expect?"

"Fair enough. I'll just blame how weird you are on your family."

She scoffed. "I'm not the only weird on here. You're the one hundred and nine year old who watches SpongeBob."

Bella had turned to face me, with her back to the water. I smiled sweetly and gave her my best innocent look. She automatically tensed, distrustful of my change in demeanour. "Bella," my voice was honey sweet, "Remember how I said that I'd get you back for ignoring me?"

Her eyes widened in realisation, but it was far too late. My hand flashed out and I shoved against her chest, sending her tipping backwards into the water below, arms wind milling comically. She fell the eight feet, shocked expression still on her face, before she splashed into the freezing liquid. She surfaced a moment later, sputtering and shaking her head to clear away the water. She gasped, moisture dripping from her face as she tread the water. "You...you...little..._weasel!"_

That was what set me off, unable to hold it in any longer. I roared with laughter, clutching my sides in a vain attempt to stay upright. Failing miserably, I dropped to my knees, only to laugh harder when I saw the pout on Bella's face.

I blame the fact that I was shaking uncontrollably as the reason why I didn't notice her move. Grabbing the wooden pole holding up the boardwalk, she pulled and catapulted herself upwards until she was right next to me. I shrieked and tried to move, but she was faster. She caught my arm and braced her feet on the edge of the wooden ledge. She gave me a wicked grin before pushing off and sending us both into the air.

We were suspended in mid-air for a few moments, the air whistling past us before we crashed into the waves. Water covered me as I went under, seeping into my clothes and soaking my hair. I was upside down, so I twisted and kicked upwards, breaking the surface with a gasp for unneeded oxygen. The sweet sound of Bella's laughter filled the night. I spun, staring directly into her face, only about a foot away. "Not so funny now, is it?"

I mock-scowled at her and said, "That wasn't nice", before bringing my arm up and sending a wave of water directly into her laughing face.

She saw this coming and right before it hit her, she dove under the surface. She was so _fast. _I didn't have time to react when I felt a blast of water hit me from below, almost sending me out of the water entirely. I flipped and landed right next to the wooden pole that Bella had used to pull herself up. Pressing my back against it, I surveyed the water, catching sight of a dark blur before Bella's head popped up right in front of me. She was still laughing and it was so infectious that I couldn't help but join her. The water was so deep that neither of us could touch the bottom, our heads tipped upwards to prevent the salty water from getting into our mouths.

"I _love _to swim. It's so...relaxing."She was smiling happily, thoroughly enjoying this little dip, which was the opposite of what I had wanted but I loved it just the same.

She wasn't the only one who loved to swim. My family had spent a few years in a port town and our house was right beside the sea. I spent so much time out there that they built a dock just so they could spend time with me.

I was about to reply, when the full moon came out from behind a cloud and struck the water around us. I heard Bella's breath catch, a small sound that I wouldn't have noticed had I been human. The moon light shone on the small waves surrounding us and caused tiny lights to dance on Bella's face, highlighting her beautiful features to new heights. Her hair was slicked back by the water that was still dripping down her skin. I watched a drop slide down over her lips, her tongue darting out of its own accord to swipe it away.

It was then that I noticed how close we were, our faces only inches apart. Bella's gaze flickered down towards my lips and I heard her gulp slightly as her breathing quickened. She leaned forwards slightly, moving slowly to give me time to move away. The closer she came, the stronger her scent was and I breathed deeply, fighting the urge to close my eyes and moan. It was a heavenly scent, light and airy, yet somehow...exotic.

She stared intensely into my eyes, never breaking contact until I felt her astonishingly warm lips on mine. She hesitated slightly, still unsure of my reaction. My eyes drifted shut and I pressed into her, moving my lips against hers. It took only a moment for her to respond and soon she matched my pace, our lips moving in sync. The kiss was soft and sweet, both of us still new to the sensation. She tasted amazing, as though her beautiful scent had been compounded. Her lips were soft and smooth, like the most expensive of silks and I couldn't think about anything other than the fact that Isabella Van Allen was kissing me.

I don't know how long we kissed for; it could have been moments or minutes, neither of us wanting to break the contact, but eventually we did. We separated, breathing heavily. I opened my eyes slowly, sluggishly and looked at Bella again, taking in her features, wanting to preserve this moment somehow.

She had a silly grin on her face; something that I'm sure was also present on mine. Her heart, usually moving at an incredibly slow pace, had sped up to normal human levels and she had to try twice to make words come. "I've wanted to do that for a while now."

I was still a little lightheaded and my emotions were all over the place. The ramifications of this moment only beginning to hit me. This was something that I had been hoping for but never really expected. "Likewise," I gasped.

The wind had picked up, causing the waves to become more powerful. They buffeted us slightly, throwing up small splashes against our faces. I was so caught up in the moment that it took me a few seconds to notice that the water surrounding Bella and I was no longer freezing, but actually quite warm. For me, the freezing water hadn't really been cold, but now it was above human temperature. I moved my hand forward and noticed that the closer it got to Bella, the warmer it got. Her body heat was higher than usual and was causing the water to heat up.

She noticed what I was doing and smiled sheepishly. The heat coming from her quickly dissipated. "Sorry, that...happens sometimes."

"I don't mind. It was actually kinda nice," I said, fighting the urge to lean in and kiss her again while at the same time, wanting to give in to it.

The moonlight glinted off of something silver and Bella's eyes snapped towards it. She raised her right arm from where it had been treading the water and glanced at the silver watch on her wrist. Once her hand was out of the water, I glimpsed the beautiful silver ring that she was always wearing, the dark blue stone almost glowing.

She sighed, grin slipping off her face. "We should be heading back. It's getting late."Her voice screamed reluctance and it caused me to smile slightly.

I nodded my agreement, not pleased that I'd have to leave Bella soon.

Just like the last time, Bella grabbed the post, waiting for me to move out of the way before pulling herself into the air. The movement accentuated her toned athletic physique. She was by no means a body builder, but she did have defined muscles, like that of a swimmer. Those muscles flexed and relaxed as she jumped upwards, shooting through the air before she landed in a graceful crouch on the wooden planks eight feet above. She looked down at me and stretched out a hand. Copying her example, I took a hold of the post and pulled upward, my nails digging into the wood. I was propelled up towards her and I grabbed her hand when I reached it. She pulled me onto the boardwalk and we began our walk back, falling into step beside each other, clothes still soaked and dripping a trail of water after us.

We were both silent on the way back to the centre of town, neither of us wanting to break the comfortable silence, lost in our own thoughts. My hand was still in Bella's and she was still exuding that strange heat. As a vampire, I was always slightly cold, no matter what source of heat I was near, but with Bella's hand around my own, that heat coming from her warmed me more than anything else ever had. Smiling at the sensation, I shifted closer to her. She looked down at me, eyes glinting as she released my hand and put her arm around me, pulling me into her side. I rested my head on her shoulder, utterly content.

As soon as we reached the city centre, I hailed a cab, waiting patiently until one pulled up beside us. The cab driver eyed us, taking in our soaked clothes. "Yer not gettin' in like tha'." I pulled out a wad of cash, handing him the bills and looking him in the eye.

"That should cover the cost of cleaning and our fare."

He stared at the bills, and then smiled at me. "Where to?"

"Forks."

He nodded and we hopped in the back, Bella giving me a look. "You have to let me pay for my half."

I laughed. "Oh, hell no." I could see that she was about to protest, so I quickly continued. "It was my fault that we got wet, so I'm paying. Challenge me if you dare." I gave her my best glare. She seemed more amused than anything, but she didn't press the issue, still looking a bit dazed. I could relate.

The ride back was silent, both of us just content to be in each other's company. Bella's scent was still having that strange effect on me. Despite the fact that I was in a car with a human for an extended period of time, I felt no burn in the back of my throat, no urge to sink my teeth into his neck and drink his lifeblood. I sighed happily and leaned into her.

For the first time in my life, I wanted someone to obey the speed limit and drive slowly. As soon as the car stopped, I would have to get out and leave Bella. To make matters worse, it was going to be sunny for the next week and my family and I were going to a more populated animal reserve out of town, so I wouldn't be able to see Bella at school.

I honestly couldn't believe that this was happening. I kept replaying that kiss in my mind and it astounded me that Bella was interested in me in that way. Never in my life had I been so excited about something. It was taking everything in me to not bounce up and down in my seat like a rabbit on crack.

The journey took a long time, but not long enough. After directing him to my house, which was closer than Bella's, he parked the cab and waited for me to get out.

I looked back at Bella, seeing that she was just as reluctant for me to leave as I was to leave. I sighed. "My family and I are going out of town for the next few days, so I won't be able to see you until next Monday." It was almost painful for me to say it and I could see that Bella felt the same way. She obviously understood why I had to leave for a few days, the sun preventing me from going to school.

I gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, mindful of the cabdriver and got out of the car. I turned to watch it go, but it stopped after only a few yards.

Bella jumped out and walked over to me.

I raised an eyebrow curiously when she reached me. She took a deep breath and faced me. "Um, Alice, I was just wondering if you'd like to maybe...do something this Friday. Maybe a movie or something. If you're free that is." Her words were quiet and she cleared her throat nervously before glancing up at me from under her lashes.

I grinned. Bella had asked me on a date. She wanted this to go somewhere. It wasn't just an in-the-moment kiss that she would realise was a mistake when she went home. I paused for a moment, composing myself lest I jump on her in my excitement. "I'd love to."

She blew out a breath in relief. The next kiss that I gave her was a little less chaste than the last one, but she didn't seem to mind. She did cast a few glances at my house afterwards, fully aware that my family could hear us.

"Great. I'll, um, call your house to arrange it, seeing as neither of us has phones for the moment." It was true; both of our phones had met a watery end tonight.

"See you Friday."

She nodded, smiling at me again before jogging back to the cab and getting in.

I stood in the driveway, watching as it disappeared around the bend and waiting until I could no longer hear the sound of its engine.

Still smiling, I turned around, coming face to face with my entire family.

**A/N: Longest chapter ever! Again, sorry for the wait, but I hope the extra length made up for it.**

**I wasn't sure if I could pull off the first kiss, seeing as it's such an important moment. Tell me what you thought about it and any suggestions that you might have, I'd love to hear them.**

**R&R. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I really appreciate all the positive reviews that I've been getting, they mean a lot to me.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, etc, etc…**

APOV

There are some very important moments in life that could go either way. They could be fantastic and leave you feeling satisfied with life, or they could go horribly wrong and make you feel like you had just made a huge mistake. Seeing as I could never think that kissing Bella and agreeing to date her could be a mistake, I wasn't sure what to make of this situation.

"You're not the only one," Edward muttered, glancing at the rest of our family, all of us still standing in the driveway. The light coming from the house poured out onto the ground like luminescent paint, casting shadows and creating a backlight for the vampires standing there.

It had been about ten seconds since I had turned around and come face to face with my family. Ten seconds since they had moved or changed facial expressions. That sliver of time to a human would be negligible, but to a vampire, it lasted hours.

Never one to draw out an awkward moment, I smiled sheepishly. "Hey, guys. Um, how long were you standing there?"

Rosalie blinked slowly. "We came out after…she left." She took a step forward and looked at me, her gaze no longer dazed. "Alice?"

I raised both of my eyebrows. "Hmm?"

"Care to explain that little _moment _with Bella, just now?" Her tone held no malice or disapproval, surprisingly, just curiosity and an emotion that I couldn't quite identify.

"Um…" I thought for a moment on how to tell them. They knew that I was gay but they didn't know about my feelings for Bella because I was very careful to shield it from them as soon as I found out myself. It's not that I was ashamed or anything, quiet the opposite as I would have happily shouted it from the rooftops, it's just that I was unsure of their reactions and didn't want to cause conflict.

Carlisle raised his hands in a soothing gesture. "Why don't we all go inside? This isn't an interrogation, after all. I'm sure Alice will explain everything."

I nodded at him thankfully. "That's a great idea. Let's go."

Not waiting for them to follow, I flitted into the large house and made a beeline for the dining room that was only ever used for family meetings and the occasional board game. The beautiful mahogany table had twelve chairs surrounding its expanse, one at each end and five running down either side. I chose the chair in the centre of the left side and plopped down on it, tucking my legs up underneath me to make myself taller. The chairs, a matching mahogany, were surprisingly soft and very comfortable, a favorite of Esme's and something Emmett was generally told to stay away from. That rule was usually overlooked during family meetings, as it was now. He took his seat directly across from me, Rosalie sitting on his left and Jasper and Edward on his right. Esme sat on my right, while Carlisle sat at the head of the table as per usual.

He folded his hands and regarded me with a raised eyebrow. I didn't miss the small smile on his face or the happiness in his eyes. However, there was also curiosity.

Fidgeting slightly, I met the gaze of each of my family members, before once again coming to rest on Carlisle. A wave of calm and encouragement enveloped me and I shot a grateful smile at my best friend and brother. Jasper smiled back at me, his blond curls shifting slightly as he nodded.

I took a deep breath and thought once again about how to begin my explanation. I was about to tell them that Bella Van Allen had kissed me and then asked me out on a date. A sudden wave of excitement bubbled up inside me, eclipsing my nerves. She had _kissed _me and then asked me out on a _date. _The entire trip back, I had been in a state of bliss, curled up beside her in the cab and now the full events of tonight chose this moment to hit me like a freight train. My naturally bubbly personality kicked into overdrive and I let loose the squeal that I'd been holding in. I flung myself into Esme's arms and started bouncing slightly as I hugged her.

She couldn't help but laugh at my actions and she returned the hug. "Alice dear, calm down."

I stopped bouncing with no little effort and looked back at everyone. "Sorry, had to get that out of my system."

"I assume this means that Bella reciprocates your feelings and tonight went well?"

I narrowed my eyes and I turned to face Esme. "How long have you known?"

She smiled a knowing smile. "Alice, I may not be your birth mother, but I am your mother and I notice these things." Her smile broke out into a full blown grin and she pulled me back into a hug. "Oh, I'm so happy for you. I hated the fact that you were alone all these years and despite what you said, I knew that you were lonely. You've finally found someone."

"How many of you knew?" Edward raised his hand, followed by Jasper and Rosalie. I stared at her. "_Rosalie? _How did you know? You seemed surprised."

She gave me a look. "I suspected for a while, I just thought that it would take longer for you to make a move." At my incredulous look, she scoffed. "I am your sister, you know."

Carlisle leaned forward. "Care to tell us what happened?"

A lazy grin spread across my face and I leaned back against the chair. I almost got lost in the memory again, until I heard Edwards voice. "She and Bella went to a boardwalk, Alice pushed her in the water, Bella pulled Alice into the water and they kissed. The Bella asked Alice out on a date next Friday, as you heard moments ago."

I scowled at him and he smiled. "You were taking too long."

Emmett looked me over. "Huh, I guess that's why you're wet. I didn't notice before." He waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "I'm willing to bet that you didn't either, right?"

I glanced down at myself to see that I was still wet from our impromptu dip in the sea. Curling up next to Bella's insanely warm body had dried some of it, but my own cold temperature ensured that I was still damp. Esme took one look at the chair I was sitting on and sighed in resignation.

Edward laughed. "You have no idea; she hasn't stopped thinking about that kiss since she came in here."

"Hey, Ali-Cat, was she any good?" I ran my fingers through my short hair in an effort to hide my embarrassment, this type of teasing new to me. Emmett laughed again. "I'll take that as a yes."

Rosalie folded her arms and leaned back into Emmett. "Wait, does this mean that you know what she is?"

Six heads snapped to me in rapt attention and I sighed. "No. I don't want to pressure her. When she's ready to tell me, she will." They looked dissatisfied, Bella's species being a topic of much thought in our household recently. I knew that Bella wouldn't mind me telling my family about tonight, seeing as she had asked me out where they could hear and they would find out eventually if she told me, which I just knew she would. "But, I do know a bit more about her powers."

Carlisle's eyebrows rose once again and the look of curiosity on his face intensified. "Really?"

"Yeah, there was a…incident tonight." My gaze flickered to Rosalie briefly. "We were shopping for dresses when Bella said that she really wanted to go to a book store that was closing soon. I was in the dressing room being interrogated by Jessica, so I only noticed when I came out and she was gone." I leaned forward and crossed my arms on the table. "I followed her scent, which, as you've noticed, dissipates really quickly." They nodded, so I continued. "I lost it in an alley, but it turns out that she had jumped up onto the buildings and was travelling by jumping from one to the other."

"She could jump onto a building from the ground?" Rosalie asked.

I nodded. "I jumped up too and followed her. I don't know how she knew something bad was happening, but I could tell that she had known beforehand because she was rushing."

Edward's eyes widened when I thought about those men and his gaze also flickered to Rosalie. "I found her behind an abandoned warehouse and she had just incapacitated a group of human men."

Carlisle furrowed his brows. "This obviously means that she has physical abilities that outclass a human, but why would she do that?"

"Because the humans in question were about to rape a young girl." I said slowly.

Snarls filled the room, the loudest coming from Rosalie and Emmett. "Bella got there before they could do anything," I stated quickly, hoping to placate them. "The girl was fine and Bella threatened the leader with castration if he tried anything like that again and from the look on his face he believed her." I remembered the pure hatred in Bella's eyes when she looked at the leader of that foul group. "Heck, _I_ believed her."

"And you said that she knew beforehand that this was happening?" Carlisle asked, his golden eyes once more alight with curiosity.

"Well, judging from her scent, she didn't backtrack or change course at all. It was a direct line to the warehouse and I highly doubt that she resorted to leaping buildings to get to a book store."

_Carlisle leaned forward and opened his mouth to speak. "How do you think she did it?"_

"And before you ask, I have no idea how she knew, she just did." I froze. Did I just..?

Edward sat up straight and stared at me. "Alice, did you just have a vision?" The voices of my family members quickly piped up.

"What?"

"When?"

"What was it about?"

"Have you had any more?"

I stared hard at the tabletop. I hadn't had a vision in months, what prompted one now? It had been a small one, only a second into the future, but it _was_ a vision. "It was only Carlisle asking how she did it, that's it."

"Alice?" I looked up at Emmett and raised my eyebrows in question. "Do you think that this has something to do with the Van Allen's?"

"Why?"

"Well think about it. Your visions stopped a few months before they moved here. Then, when they did arrive, Edward and Jasper's powers failed to work on them. Maybe one of them has the ability to block vampire powers and because your power would have affected them months ago, that's when their power shut yours down. Maybe its Bella herself, seeing as you thought that the feelings you've been getting in place of your visions were directly related to her." We all quieted down and turned to look at my bear of a brother. He may not look it, but he was an intelligent individual.

Carlisle looked thoughtful. "You're right, Emmett. That makes sense. If that's the case, we should talk to them about it." All eyes turned to me expectantly.

"Oh, hell no. I'm not spending my date with Bella drilling her for information. When she's ready, she'll tell me." I carefully shielded my thoughts from Edward. I knew that he would notice and be suspicious, but I didn't want to reveal what Bella told me about her past. She had been fairly comfortable using her powers around me, so I knew that telling my family wouldn't be a big deal, but she had thought about it for a while before she had told me about some of her past, so I wouldn't mention it until I knew that she was okay with it.

Carlisle sighed and nodded, not going to force the issue. "Did anything else unusual happen?"

I thought back to my day with Bella, her rescue of the girl, her silence in sneaking up on me, the way her scent affected me. "Now that I think about it, there was something unusual." I turned to face Jasper. "Jazz, could you tell me again what it was like when she touched you?"

His brow furrowed, questions clear in his eyes. "It was like…one minute I couldn't sense anything but the blood, and the next, the thirst was gone, sort of like-"

"Like someone pouring water over a fire."

He regarded me thoughtfully. "Yes, exactly like that."

"The same thing happened to me." Eyes widened around the table and before a barrage of questions could arrive, I continued. "The girl behind the warehouse had a cut on her head that was bleeding freely. I wasn't going to attack her or anything, but the thirst was pretty strong. Bella jumped onto the warehouse next to me, but she didn't touch me. It was just her scent that stopped the thirst."

"Has this ever happened before?" Edward asked.

I shook my head. "Never. This was the first time."

Rosalie frowned. "Bella knew that you followed her?"

I smiled sheepishly, remembering my attempts at explaining myself. "Yes. She sensed me up on the roof. She was surprisingly fast and quiet, because I didn't hear her jump onto the building next to me." I straightened up in my seat. "Look, I told you this because I don't like keeping secrets, but I want you all to know that I trust Bella and I'm going on that date Friday whether you approve or not."

Once again, I locked gazes with them, waiting for their reaction. Esme broke first, a huge smile adorning her motherly features and one by one they fell, until everyone was smiling, even Rosalie, though hers was small.

I sighed in relief, glad that they approved. They were my family and they wanted what was best for me.

I really hope that Bella has an easy a time of this as I did.

BPOV

"_I love to swim. It's just so…relaxing," I said, still smiling like an idiot. Alice was pressed up against the wooden post behind her, chin raised to keep the waves at bay. She was absolutely soaked, water trickling down her face, her previously spiky black hair that I loved so much plastered to her face._

_She smiled and opened her mouth to reply when the moon came out from behind one of the ever-present clouds. I had always loved the moon and the nighttime, but now moonlight had a new meaning for me. It shone on the water surrounding the two of us and illuminated Alice's face, her body's natural reaction to sunlight coming forth to a lesser extent, her skin glowing slightly._

_My breath caught in my throat, all of my concentration focused on the girl in front of me. She had a far-off look on her face and she looked at me with…longing? My gaze flickered down to her small lips and I felt myself lean forward, slowly, giving her the chance to move away. Oh, how I hoped she didn't move away. My breathing quickened and I gulped slightly, my mouth suddenly dry._

_Her eyelids fluttered and she took a deep breath as I stared intensely into her eyes. I finally spanned the distance between us and pressed my lips against her cold ones. I hesitated, unsure until she pressed her lips harder against mine. I felt a wave of euphoria wash over me as her lips moved with my own. She tasted like she smelled, a plethora of exotic fruits that was completely Alice. Her lips were hard, yet smooth, like the finest marble._

_Eventually, we broke away, breathing heavily. I looked at her again, taking in every detail of her face. At some point, she had closed her eyes and she opened them now, gazing up at me with the most adorable smile on her face. My heart was racing and I spoke twice before I could coerce words to come. "I've wanted to do that for a while now."_

"_Likewise," she gasped, grin still firmly in place._

_My happiness was almost a physical thing, pouring off of me in waves. I noticed Alice get a confused look on her face, before she moved her hand through the water and stared at it. I was wondering what she was doing for a moment before I realized that it wasn't happiness pouring off of me in waves, but heat. I quickly reined it back in and smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry, that…happens sometimes." If I was feeling strong emotions, my ability sometimes mirrored that. For example, anger meant raging torrents of boiling heat while happiness meant gentle waves of warmth. I was only thankful that I wasn't in my natural form, in which case, extreme happiness made my body react in a somewhat obvious way._

"_I don't mind. It was actually kinda nice," she said, glancing at me from underneath her lashes._

_The gentle waves of warmth kick-started once again._

"Hey, lass, we're at yer' stop." The voice of the cabdriver jolted me out of what was rapidly becoming my favourite and most relived memory. The memory of my first kiss, with Alice Cullen no less.

I looked out the window and, sure enough, the road to my house awaited.

"You sure you want me to drop you off 'ere? I could drive farther in."

I smiled at him in the over-head mirror, before getting out and looking at him through his window. "No thank you. I'm perfectly fine. Goodbye." I waved at him, which he returned, giving me a worried glance, before doing a u-turn and driving off back to Port Angeles.

I sighed contentedly, the scent of Alice still on my clothes from where she had leaned against me and began walking in the direction of my house through the chill night air.

It was dark out, the moon once again hidden by clouds, no longer present to illuminate the forest surrounding me. It would have been difficult for me had my enhanced eyes not been able to pierce the darkness. The only sounds were my own whisper-quiet footsteps and the night-dwelling animals going about their business. It was about a mile from the head of the road to our house and I chose to walk it at a human pace, enjoying the experience.

It would also give me longer to figure out a way to tell my family about this. I don't think that they knew about my feelings for Alice, seeing as I'd only just recently found out, so this would be a surprise for them. No to mention the fact that Alice was a girl, which meant that I was gay. It was no secret that human society still didn't fully accept that kind of relationship, but I knew that my family would be okay with it. After all, it was by no means the weirdest thing about me.

I sighed and quickened my pace slightly. It's not like they wouldn't approve, but I was still apprehensive.

I was brought out of my musings by the slight rustle of leaves and the shifting of feet. I stepped out of reach when someone leaped out of the cover of the trees and tried to grab me. Instead, I grabbed his arm and flipped him around before twisting it behind his back and slamming him down on his stomach. His breath left him with an audible 'oof', and an impression of his body was forced into the ground. I placed my knee on the small of his back to stop him from moving and surveyed the forest for more 'attackers'.

Once I realized that there were no more, I released him and pulled him to his feet. Lee shook off the dirt on his front and smiled at me. "Nice. You incapacitated your first enemy before taking your eyes off of him, while still maintaining awareness of your surroundings."

I rolled my eyes. Occurrences like these were not uncommon events. As soon as I was old enough, my family had thought that it would be a good idea for me to know how to fight, in case I ended up in a situation where I would need it. It had started off with small things, defensive moves like how to dodge blows and now it was defending myself against random attacks and using offensive moves. I was glad that I could fight well and I was thankful that my family had thought of it when they did. "Oh please, you weren't even trying."

Lee was a great fighter and that little spat was only to test my reflexes. "I didn't want to get caught up in a full on sparring session. This was only to keep you sharp and, as always, you did great." He gestured towards the house, the lights visible and started walking.

I fell into step beside him and he gave me a thoughtful look. "Jesse has been grinning like the Cheshire cat ever since she got a phone call from your human friend that she refused to tell us the contents of. I assume from the pensive look on your face that you have something to share with us?"

I sighed at his perception. "Yes, I have something to tell you and I hope that you guys don't make a big deal about it." I knew that Jesse knew. She was even more perceptive than Lee when she wasn't doing something unlawful.

We reached the front porch steps and opened the door, walking into the living room where my family was already assembled, having heard us speaking. Clare and Michael were sitting on the couch together and Jesse was sitting on one side of the love seat.

Lee trotted over to the love seat and sat down, wrapping his arm around Jesse, who was in fact grinning like the Cheshire cat. She winked at me as I sat down on the armchair right next to the fire place.

I turned to face them. Oh well, no point in drawing this out. "I kissed Alice Cullen today and asked her out on a date this Friday, which she said yes to. I also showed Alice some of my powers while stopping a group of humans from raping a young girl and we'll be hearing from the police for a statement soon."

Eyes widened around the room. I coughed slightly and leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs in front of me.

My dad leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at me. "Maybe you should start from the beginning."

I took a deep breath and launched into my explanation. "Well, Alice came to Port Angeles because her and her family were afraid that the killings around there were caused by vampires and she wanted to protect me. We were in a dress shop when I got this weird feeling, like something was wrong. I followed it and came across some…men attacking a young girl. I stopped them and her family came and called the police. I gave my name and number, because I didn't want a repeat of that time in our last town and they said that they'd need a statement at some point in the future. Alice had followed me and she saw me. We waited for the police to leave and then we went back to Jessica and Angela, who had already eaten. Alice and I went to the boardwalk to get me something to eat, we got into a…water fight and we kissed, then we got a cab home. At her house, I asked her out on a date, she said yes and I went here."

I took another deep breath and sighed. I had only needed one to say all that, mainly because I had spoken at vampire speed, but also because I had great lung capacity. I thought that it would have been better to just get it all out there now.

Jesse smiled. "So, you had your first kiss. And you're gay. Ha. Who knew? Well, apart from me of course."

I apprised them carefully. "So, you're…okay with that?"

Clare smiled. "Of course we are. If Alice makes you happy, then we can't stand in the way of that." She frowned. "Although, we'll have to meet her soon."

Micheal scowled. "Yes, just because you're both girls, that doesn't mean that I'll let you two do any funny business just yet."

I turned red. "Dad! We _just _kissed. We're not going to be doing any…funny business."

Jesse's cough sounded suspiciously like a 'yet'.

"When you said that you said that you had a 'feeling', what did you mean by that?" Lee asked.

"I don't know what it was, but I suddenly felt as if something was wrong and that I needed to be somewhere. I followed it and it led me to the girl."

"And you've never felt something like this before?" he continued.

"Nope."

Clare nodded. "I'll do some research on the matter, see what comes up." My mother may be something new in every town, but as a human she had been a librarian and if there was one thing that she knew how to do, it was research. She had a plethora of books stashed around our many houses, but she carried the important ones around with her to each new dwelling. Most of those had to do with either my kind, werewolves, or vampires. She was an expert of separating fact from fiction and could find the only grain of truth on an entire beach.

"So, what are you gonna do this Friday for your date?" Jesse asked, smile still on her face.

"Um…," I said slowly.

Her eyes widened. "You don't know yet?"

I smiled sheepishly and shook my head. "It's not until Friday and I intend to plan something special, if you must know." For the third time that night I took a deep breath and fidgeted nervously. Now it was time to drop the bomb. "I, uh, want to tell her. About me."

They all looked at each other and then Micheal spoke. "Are you sure about this?"

I nodded, determination and conviction clear in my eyes. "Yes. I can't in good conscience enter a relationship with someone who doesn't even know what I am. It's not fair to Alice, who's been great about the whole thing and I trust her. Besides, you all know that I'm a great judge of character. Have I ever been wrong about someone before? Also, the damage has already been done. They know that I'm neither vampire nor werewolf and that there are other things out there. Keeping it a secret this long was ultimately a wasted effort and we've been fooling ourselves." I added that last part in to make a more convincing argument. Whether they approved or not, I was telling Alice, but I'd prefer it if they went along with it.

I wasn't blind to the fact that I was about to tell Alice something that I'd never told anyone outside of my family, but I trusted her. I wasn't even sure where this trust came from but from the first moment I'd laid eyes on her, I'd known that she'd be important to me and that I should trust her. I did get feelings about people, whether they are good or bad, and the ones I was getting from Alice were definitely good.

"This means that her family will find out, we can't expect her to keep it a secret from them," Jesse stated, expression serious.

"I know." I really wanted to get to know them for a bit before I told them, like I had with Alice. Well, not _exactly _like I had with Alice…

Jesse smiled happily. "This is fantastic. Our little girl is growing up." She wiped a fake tear from her eye.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up."

She perked up instantly, mischievous expression on her face. "We can show her the baby photos. I'm sure she'd love that."

My eyes widened in horror. "Don't you dare!"

She laughed. "We can even show her the home videos."

I scowled and threw a pillow at her. "Joke all you want, I refuse to let it affect me. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower. I still smell like salt and seaweed." I huffed and left the room, choosing to block out their laughter. I sighed in relief as soon as I'd passed the door, happy that I'd made it past the gauntlet.

I flitted up the stairs and into my room, passing Sanderson, who was curled up in one of my shoeboxes, and headed straight into the bathroom.

I stripped off my ring with a sigh of relief. It was a brilliant object and I don't know what I'd do without it, but when I wore it, the glamour that it produced felt like someone had wrapped me in cling film, which is why I took it off whenever I was away from prying eyes or with my family. As soon as it was off, the cling-filmy feeling evaporated and my body shifted, becoming smoother and more toned. My hair immediately turned its natural silvery-white and became almost weightless, my eyes glowed before shifting to a shining blue and my skin lost its tan, becoming an even, snowy complexion. The ever-present 'tattoos' on my back became visible and my senses became even more acute.

Quickly taking off my clothes, I hopped into the shower and flipped it on, enjoying the sensation of warm water on my already warm skin.

Inevitably, my thoughts returned to Alice and our impending date. She wouldn't be at school for the next few days, due to an annoyingly timed sunny spell, so I'd have to wait until the weekend to see her. That thought was one that I didn't enjoy. I had to call her to arrange it, so I'd get to talk to her soon anyway, which bolstered my spirits slightly.

I hummed happily to myself as I took out my shampoo, the new type that I had finally managed to find in an old-age herbal store. Just like the rest of my family, synthetic shampoos and other products didn't work well for me and my enhanced senses, so it had to be all natural. The scent of cinnamon and shea butter enveloped the room and I began humming along to a tune in my head.

Thirty minutes passed before I could bring myself to get out. Stepping onto the tiles I amped up my body temperature and walked out of the room, steam rising from my rapidly heating body. The need to brush my hair was non-existent, as it was too silky and lightweight to get any knots, but I still liked the motion, which I found soothing. Before I left, I swiped my ring from the shelf beside the shower. I carried it with me everywhere, just as a safety precaution.

Still humming, something I'd picked up thanks to Alice, I strolled into my room and dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Sleep wasn't a huge deal for me, one or two hours every few days being enough, but I liked to spend the night dressed in pyjamas, a habit from when I was younger and needed to rest more often.

Sanderson was gone from the shoe box and when I went downstairs, I found him curled up on Jesse's lap, enjoying the thorough scratching that he was getting. Jesse herself was alone, the rest of my family at various parts of the house. The TV was on to Robot Wars, something that we'd all gotten slightly addicted to in the past few years. Watching Sanderson, I wondered if Alice liked cats.

This question brought on a more important one; when would Alice meet my family? When I told her, her family would soon have to be told and that would mean that the only thing keeping our two families from interacting would be gone. Both sides had expressed the wish to meet the other, and for Micheal, meeting Carlisle would be an experience. My family would once again get to interact with other vampires, something that they'd shied from until I had gotten older.

The thought brought a smile to my face, which Jesse noticed. "Thinking about Alice?"

I plopped down on the couch next to her. "Sort of. I was thinking that now, you guys would get to meet the Cullens."

She grinned. "Yeah. I think that Emmett guy seems pretty cool."

I rolled my eyes. "Typical of you to find the prankster of the family 'cool'."

"Maybe I can show him my wood chipper."

"That sounded vaguely dirty. How do you do that?"

She shrugged. "It's a gift. One that I use sparingly. After all, 'with great power comes great responsibility'."

"You've been reading Spider-man again, haven't you?" I accused. She looked at me innocently. "God, you are such a nerd."

"Hey, reading comic books does not make one a nerd."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you're going to deny the fact that you joined chess club at school?"

"How did you...?"

"I have my sources. Ya know, Jesse, you have some pretty weird interests for someone who makes fun of everything."

Her grin came back. "Did Lee say something about my 'weird interests'?"

My eyes widened and I smacked my hands over my ears. "Too much information!"

Her laughter carried around the house. I could hear my parents laughing upstairs and Lee's voice coming from the doorway where he'd just entered. "Now Jesse, let's not scar the poor girl." He smiled as he walked over and proceeded to kiss Jesse very…thoroughly.

At that moment the phone rang. "I'll get it!" I yelled, thankful for any reason to leave the room. On my way out I grabbed Sanderson who was beginning to look confused at the actions going on above him.

Reaching the phone in a split second, I waited until it had rung twice before picking it up. "Hello?"

"Hey Bella, its Ben."

"Oh, hey Ben." Ben and Angela were by far my favorite humans and the only ones that I'd gotten fairly close to over the course of the few weeks I'd been here.

"Ya know how a few of us had decided to go to First Beach?"

"Yes."

"Well, we were planning to go tomorrow, but Ange, Eric and Chris wouldn't be able to make it, so we're going on Monday. It's getting pretty cold out and our window of opportunity is shrinking fast. You in?"

First Beach. The place where werewolves roamed. They did say that I'd be, if not exactly welcome, tolerated, so the treaty wouldn't be affected. I briefly considered saying no, just in case their Alpha didn't speak for all of the pack, but I figured that I should spend more time with Ben and some of the others. I'd been neglectful, mainly because I couldn't stop thinking about a certain spiky-haired vampire, and it'd be good to go out and see them.

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Um, you can invite Lee and Jesse…if you want." I had been spending a few lunch breaks with the humans, so my siblings would occasionally drop by to say hi. They were okay with me, but my brother and sister intimidated them slightly.

Jesse and Lee going to a reservation full of werewolves on a sunny day in front of a group of human teenagers? Not a great idea. "No can do. Both of 'em are going out of state for the week for a concert." The lie we had constructed explained why only Jesse and Lee were out of school and not me. Wed have to come up with a more concrete one to explain why they always disappeared on sunny days. I wonder what excuse the Cullens used. They had been here for a while.

"Oh, who're they gonna see?"

"Brandon Flowers." The second lie came easily, something that I'd picked up from my family. Sure, it wasn't a great habit, but it was a damn useful one.

"Cool. I hope they have a good time and I'll see you in school on Monday."

"See ya." I hung up the phone, realizing that Sandy had fallen asleep in my arms. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the world's laziest cat.

I thought about going into the living room to watch TV, but from the sounds, Jesse and Lee were still in there and I had no desire to see that. Instead I went up to my room, flipped off the lights and hopped into bed, intending to get some shut eye. I hadn't slept in about four days, and I was due. Curling around the still-sleeping cat in my insanely comfy bed, I willed myself to sleep, the sounds of my family's 'goodnights' soft in the darkness.

A werewolf infested beach on Monday, a date with Alice Cullen on Friday and who knew what in the interim.

I was in for an interesting week.

**A/N: Okay, it's shorter than my last chapter, but it's also been updated sooner. **

**I'm not sure about this chapter. It's sort of a filler, so I'm sorry if it's not up to the usual standard.**

**R&R**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't know if I put one of these in my last chapter, but I'm here to reassure you that I am in no way trying to usurp the Throne of Twilight, which is what I'm assuming SM sits on all day as she lords over her many, many minions. **

**Translation: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Okay, sorry for not updating, but I just started college and it's a bit overwhelming. I'll try to keep my updates more regular, but it's proving difficult. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't what you guys wanted, but I just have to work up to the big stuff, ya know? Also, I'd like to thank CyberAngelOne for the boost; you're the main reason that I finished this chapter today. And rest assured, I have every intention of finishing this story, 'cause I know how annoying it is when authors just stop in the middle of things.**

**Anyway, on with the story. It's a bit short, but its more like another filler. Don't hate me too much.**

BPOV

It had started off as a simple little thing. A butterfly, actually.

I had seen the aforementioned butterfly sitting on one of the flowers at the other end of our rather large garden. It just so happened to be a yellow flower, a rose to be exact. That inevitably led me to think about Alice, seeing as yellow was her favourite colour, which in turn made me wonder about whether or not I should get her flowers for our date next Friday. I had never been on a date before and from watching TV, I knew that flowers were a common theme among new couples, as were chocolates, but those were off the table for obvious reasons. Then, I wondered if flowers were _too _common, too banal for someone as extraordinary as Alice Cullen. That got me thinking about alternatives to flowers, about gifts and about what I should do for the date, something that I would no doubt remember for the rest of my life.

All that thinking eventually led to me being tackled by Lee.

I slammed into the ground, my breath leaving my body as I skidded across the garden before coming to a stop, a dirty, grassless trail in my wake. Lee stood over me, a disapproving look on his face, while Jesse looked on amusedly from her spot on the porch.

I huffed from my place on the floor, looking at the dirt that covered me from head to toe. My snow white, lightweight hair was completely smothered in mud, something that irked me. The constant rain in Forks had made the ground wet and muddy and sparring with my older brother was never a thing to do while wearing nice clothes.

Flipping over, I stood up, brushing my muddy hair from my eyes and watched Lee cross his arms and tap his foot. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Bella, you've been distracted all day, you haven't managed to pin me once and your entire form is off."

I frowned at him. "My form is just fine, thank you very much. And I'm not distracted, I'm just…preoccupied."

He sighed and uncrossed his arms, putting them up in a fighting stance, which I mirrored. "You're thinking about Alice and your date," he stated, matter-of-factly.

Crouching down, he sprung at me. I spun to the side in time to block his next blow and delivered one of my own. He dropped into a roll to avoid it, and then twisted to kick my legs out from under me. Jumping into the air, I flipped over him and swiftly kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling in the mud. I landed behind him silently, watching him carefully. "Yes, I'm thinking about her. When have I _not _been thinking about her for the last two days? Hell, for the last two _weeks?_"

Lee blurred to his feet, the weak morning light causing thousands of tiny lights to dance on his skin. It was five o'clock on Monday morning. I had slept for about three hours Saturday night, so I was well rested for about three or four days. Once my family had found out about my La Push trip, Lee had demanded that I spend the time leading up to it training. Of course, with Alice on my mind, that was proving more difficult than normal. I was faster than him, but he had more experience and his arms and legs were much longer than mine, which gave him better reach.

"You need to relax, Bella. Everything will work out fine." He lunged at me again, his leg flashing out as he aimed a kick at my shoulder. I brought up my hand and caught his foot. He smirked and pushed off the ground with his other leg. His foot connected with the side of my head and I was flung across the garden from the force of the blow. Flipping in midair, I rearranged myself so that my feet hit the huge boulder that Clare had placed at one end of the garden to add 'a little something'. I shook my head to get rid of the pain. Bending my legs so that the boulder wouldn't shatter I pushed off, flying horizontally across the ground so fast that Lee didn't have enough time to dodge. Slamming into his chest I pushed him backwards, sending both of us into the forest surrounding our house, leaving a trail of shattered tree-branches behind us. We tumbled to a stop, the two of us standing once again in less than a fraction of a second.

Heat blazed within me, raising my body temperature, eager to be released. My hand twitched and a small, dark blue flame sprang to life. I quickly quelled it. This exercise was about physical combat, nothing more. We did occasionally have training sessions to help me control my other power, but Lee couldn't help me as much in that aspect as he could in the martial arts. I pushed the heat back as he took a step forward. I could feel my eyes silvering, something that happened in my natural form when I was experiencing strong emotions or fighting. It didn't actually do anything other than express my mood, but it looked bloody impressive.

"Oh, I know that everything will work out fine, because I intend to _make _everything work out fine." I frowned slightly. "I just have no idea how I'm going to do that."

He chuckled, hand shooting out to clip me in the head. I jerked my head to the side and gave him an uppercut to the chin. He shot upward, coming to land twenty feet away from me. He raised his head from the ground, blinking to get rid of the daze in his eyes. "You could always take Jesse's offer of help." He jumped to his feet in one of those moves that you always see in Jackie Chan movies and spun, leg outstretched. His foot connected with a small boulder and it flew at me like a football. My eyes widened and I dove to the side, avoiding the missile. I gave him a look. He grinned. "Always know your terrain and use whatever you can from your environment."

"Of course. Look, I know that Jesse could think of something, but this is my date and I want it to be perfect. That means planning it myself." He shot forward again, aiming a punch to my chest. I dodged and brought my arm down, aiming for the space between his neck and his shoulder. He spun out of the way and kicked me in the thigh. I staggered slightly and he took the opportunity to kick my legs out from under me. I smacked into the ground, mud flying everywhere as Lee triumphantly pinned me. I let out a deep breath, thoroughly annoyed that he'd won again.

He grinned again and stood up, offering me his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. I scowled and he laughed. "Bella, you're only seventeen. I, on the other hand, am a ninety-nine year old vampire who's been fighting for longer than you've been alive. The fact that you manage to pin me some of the time is very impressive. You have the potential, you just lack the experience." He pulled a leaf from my face and turned me around, walking back towards the house. "Now, about this Alice thing. Don't panic. Just plan something special and from the heart and she'll love it."

I looked at him. "That actually works?"

He shrugged. "It does with Jesse."

I smacked him on the shoulder. "Like she's normal in the slightest."

He smiled fondly. "That's why I love her."

The house came in to view, Jesse no longer on the porch. Turning me around, he placed his hands on my shoulders. "Seriously, Bella. Don't let first date jitters get the best of you. Everybody is nervous on their first date."

"Even you?"

He laughed again. "Especially me. On my first date with Jesse, I got so nervous that I ended up drinking five deer the day before, one of which I accidentally chased off a cliff."

I laughed at the mental image that brought up. "Thanks Lee. You're so much better at pep-talks than Jesse."

He pulled me into a hug. "Bella, one of Micheal's marble statues is better than Jesse at giving pep-talks."

Our little brother-sister bonding moment was rudely interrupted by a stream of water slamming into us. We broke apart, arms shielding our eyes as we turned to face our assailant. Jesse stood there, calmly spraying us with the fire-hose. I blinked furiously, the water making the mud on my face trail down into my eyes, the force of the hose enough to send a human flying backwards. "Dammit, Jesse! What the hell?"

She turned off the hose and smiled sweetly at us. "I just thought you should get all of that mud off of you before you get to school." I scowled at her as she happily skipped off. "And I'm great at giving pep-talks," she threw back over her shoulder before walking into the house. _Note to self: Do something nasty to that girl._

I turned to look at Lee. His long-ish black hair was plastered to his face, streaks of mud that the hose had missed lining his face. He was staring at the house. "We may have annoyed her."

I shook, droplets flying everywhere. "You _think_?"

After a thorough shower and a breakfast of a pretzel and orange juice (the food of champions), I made my way to the school, sad that neither Alice nor my siblings could attend today because of the sun. Glaring at the offending celestial body, I parked our car in one of the available parking spaces and turned off the ignition.

School was definitely an experience for me. I had never gone before this and my only information came from Jesse's 'crash course' and TV. The former was hardly reliable and the latter had turned out to be much too over-dramatic. In actuality, school was boring as hell. I had been homeschooled by vampires my entire life and had mental abilities well beyond that of a human. All of that combined to make my school day uneventful now that I didn't have my family to talk to or Alice to discreetly stare at.

The rain was no longer pouring, clouds noticeably absent from the sky. Everywhere I looked; people were enjoying the sunny weather, a few ambitious students actually wearing shorts.

Opening the door, I hopped out, grabbing my messenger bag and walking into the school.

I had managed to make it about five feet when I was accosted by Mike. He ran up and fell into step beside me. He was one of the ambitious, short-wearing students and his attire annoyed me for some reason.

"Hey, Bella. I heard that you were coming to La Push today and I thought that maybe we could hang out while we were there." He smiled at me, his expression a little less sure than last time, but still way too cocky for my liking. He put one arm on his hip and flexed slightly, trying to show off his non-existent muscles. If only he knew how much muscles didn't appeal to me.

How could I artfully turn him down without hurting his feelings? I mean, there was actually no reason that I couldn't spend some time with him, other than the whole 'not liking him' thing and I doubted that I should tell him that.

"Um, well…sure," I said slowly.

His grin spread like a poisonous weed across his face. "Great. I'm sure we'll have lots of…fun." I didn't miss the way his eyes skimmed my body before he said 'fun'.

Growling slightly, something that I had picked up by living with vampires, I forced a smile onto my face that I knew didn't reach my eyes and clapped him on the shoulder, hard enough to pitch him forward slightly. He winced and my grin became less forced. "Sure we will, Mike. You can join Angela and I. We're going to build sandcastles and try and guess who the cutest boy in the class is. Then there's the various school dances coming up. She has this gorgeous dress picked out. We'll tell you all about it, okay? I'm sure you'll love it. Oh, and Jessica has something that she wants to ask you." As I walked away, I didn't miss the confused look on his face, or his quiet whisper; "What just happened?"

I laughed and went to my first class. Jessica didn't actually want to go with Mike, and vice-versa, but I figures they'd have at least one terribly awkward conversation over my comment.

The first half of my day was fairly entertaining. I made the mistake of pointing out a mistake in our Trig teacher's notes and he spent five whole minutes telling me that he was the teacher, I was the student and what he says goes. Of course, that didn't stop him from surreptitiously changing his answer when he thought no one was looking. During Chemistry, Mr. Jensen accused me of not paying attention, which I wasn't, and told me to go to the front of the class to do the experiment we were working on by myself. I did everything perfectly and he made me do it two more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Then came History, during which I spent another five minutes being yelled at because the teacher thought that I was cheating due to the fact that I got every answer correct in out test in record time. After he found out that he had made a mistake, he apologized profusely and told me I was doing a 'fine job'. Usually such a series of events would have tried even my vast patience, but I couldn't find it within myself to be in a bad mood now that my life had taken such a drastic turn.

When lunch finally came around, we all sat at the 'popular table' and Jessica tried to engage me in conversation, which always seemed to find a way back to Lee.

"So, Bella, I hear that your brother is going to that Brandon Flowers concert. I wanted to go myself but I have to help my mom out at the store." I wonder if she even knew who Brandon Flowers was, considering the fact that the concert she so desperately wanted to go to didn't actually exist. I pushed the fries on my plate around slightly before popping one in my mouth and chewing slowly. This stuff really did taste like crap.

Deciding to put my dear brother out of his misery and prevent Jessica from further embarrassing herself, no matter how funny it would be, I spoke up. "Yeah, Lee has been looking forward to going to this concert for a while now. He even brought his girlfriend along." Not technically a lie.

She froze, head turning towards me slowly. "His girlfriend. He has a girlfriend?" She was striving for disinterested and she failed miserably.

I smiled happily. "Yes. They've only been together for a few months, but they're getting pretty serious."

Her attempt at disinterest was thrown out the window and she hissed under her breath, her voice full of venom. "I _knew _that little bitch was lying!"

My brow drew down in confusion.

She realized that she had spoken a little too loudly and glared at me. "Why didn't you tell me that that little Cullen freak was going out with your brother?"

Angela stopped talking to Ben and swiveled to face us.

"Jessica, what are you talking about?"

Jessica fumed and pointed a finger at me. "She didn't tell anyone that Alice Cullen was with her brother." She said Alice's name with such distain that my eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"What the hell is your problem?"

She scoffed. "I asked that little freak if there was anything going on and she said no."

A subsonic growl broke from my lips and I felt a flicker of heat inside my body. The instinct to defend Alice came out of nowhere, but it was strong and it had free reign over my mouth. Focusing on the sudden and surprising anger, I forced it back and kept my voice neutral. "I would appreciate it if you didn't call Alice a freak. She's not my brother's girlfriend, which you'd know if you didn't spend so much time with your head up you're ass." Honestly, where did this girl get this crap? And how could she possibly hate Alice so much?

Her eyes widened. "Why you little f—"

"Jessica!" Angela leaned in between us, hands raised in a soothing gesture. "Calm down. Both of you." She directed the last part to me, concerned look on her face.

I leaned back in my chair slowly. Glancing at my hand, I saw that I had crushed the little plastic knife that they expected us to eat with. I quickly put the pieces in my pocket.

Jessica stood up and looked at me with poorly veiled malice. "Whatever. I'm not gonna deal with this now. Come on Lauren." Like a faithful puppy, Lauren got up, glared at me and followed Jessica, who was storming away loudly.

The remnants of anger that I felt gave way to mild annoyance. Her obvious dislike of Alice was grating on my nerves, but also her assumption that Lee was romantically interested in her. Jessica's constant advances had been making him nervous and they had been pissing Jesse off to no end. She was very protective of 'her man' and I was very protective of her. My desire to get up and rugby tackle her notwithstanding; I dug my nails into my leg to keep from moving and went back to my food, poking at it with my fork because my knife had just been murdered.

For a moment, everything was quiet, and then Ben began to laugh.

It was slow at first, more of a chuckle. Then his shoulders began to shake slightly, his back hunched over slightly, choked off sounds coming from his mouth until he exploded into a laughing fit. He leaned forward and placed his hands on the table, howling with laughter. "Di…did you…s…see her…face? She…look…looked so…pissed!" Whatever else he said was cut off as he fell forward, only the table stopping him from falling to the floor. All around our table, lips twitched, everyone trying in vain to stem the giggles. Bens laugh seemed to be contagious.

I sat there, confused as to why they found this funny. He tried to compose himself, saw my face, and that seemed to set him off again.

Finally, Angela took pity on me. "Sorry Bella, it's just that she's been talking about Lee for weeks now, despite the initial rejection and it's been annoying us all to no end. We even had bets as to when she'd figure it out; we just didn't think that she'd get so angry."

Finally Ben had stopped laughing, although he twitched now and then. He flopped backwards in his chair with a gasp, gulping in much needed air. "Thanks Bella, I really needed that. So far it's been a crappy day but that brought my mood right up."

"Glad that I could amuse you so much," I said, the anger draining out of my system at the look of mirth on his face. His enthusiasm reminded me of Alice.

I sighed in annoyance. Not being able to see her until Friday put a crimp in my mood and to be honest, it was strange. I had met her a few weeks ago and had just recently let my feelings for her be known, but I already missed her presence. Sitting back in my chair, I absentmindedly looked around the cafeteria, seeing all of the faces surrounding me. By human standards, my feelings for Alice were stronger than they should be, but I wasn't human. Maybe this was natural for me. I mean, vampires had mates and werewolves had imprints, both of which made their feelings for their significant other much more potent. Maybe it was just something that supernatural beings did. I should ask Clare about it when I got home from La Push.

Speaking of, my eagerness to go to the beach had been dimmed slightly and I briefly wondered if I should go at all. It _was_ werewolf-infested and I lived with vampires. So not a great combination.

Then again, their Alpha had said I'd be tolerated. But, if he thought about it while he was away from me and my animal-friendly vibe, maybe he'd changed his mind.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" I turned to look at Angela, who was sitting with her arm tucked in with Ben's.

I smiled at her. "Just looking forward to the beach trip."

APOV

_Bella smiled. "Just looking forward to the beach trip."_

I jerked forward from my place on the couch, surprise plastered across my face. That had been Bella.

"Whoa, Alice. What happened?" Emmett leaned towards me, concern clear in his eyes.

Both of us had been spending our day off lazing around in front of the television, him paying attention to what was going on, me thinking about my impending date with a certain brunette. That had been the third vision that I had had since the first one with Carlisle and it was the only one that had Bella in it and it had definitely been the longest.

"I just had a short vision of Bella," I said, still staring at the screen of the television but not really seeing it. After months without them, the few visions that I had been having were coming as surprises.

He grinned. "That's great, there're finally coming back. So, what was she doing?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I smacked him on the arm, smiling slightly myself. "For God's sake, Emmett. It's not like she was in the shower or anything."

Rosalie chose that moment to walk in. "Alice has been spying on Bella in the shower?" She mock glared at me. "Shame on you. Give the girl some privacy." Pecking her mate on the cheek, she sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Besides, I'm sure you'll get to see her naked at some point in the future."

"You're both vulgar, _vulgar _people," I stated in outrage. Not that the idea didn't appeal to me…

"Get your head out of the gutter, Alice!" Edward yelled from upstairs and I tried, unsuccessfully to block out the snickers of my siblings.

"Ok, seriously, what was happening in your vision?" Rosalie pressed.

"Nothing. It was just Bella talking to a friend," I lied, not wanting to go into detail.

Edward trotted down the stairs, grin firmly in place and Jasper trailing behind him, "That was so not the case. Jessica was insulting Alice and Bella took offence and proceeded to give her a thorough tongue-lashing. In an insanely polite way, of course."

"Awww," Emmett and Rose cooed in unison.

"Oh, shut up," I tried for annoyed but I was too happy about seeing Bella defend me like that to be anything other than elated. She was cute when she was pissed…

"Oh, here we go," Edward muttered, looking terribly amused.

I scoffed. "Please. You were way worse than me when you first met Jasper. If I remember correctly, you and he-"

"Alice!" He leaned in and stage-whispered dramatically. "We agreed to never speak of that again."

Emmet chuckled. "You were such a corny nerd and Jazz wasn't much better. Remember the time he paid that pilot to spell out Eddie's name in gold smoke because," his voice changed in pitch until it was dreamy and his eyelashes fluttered, "'it was the exact colour of your eyes'."

Edward flipped him off and pressed his lips to Jasper's. "Well, I thought that it was romantic."

Rosalie glanced at me. Speaking of romantic, do you have any idea what Bella has planned for this weekend?"

I sighed. "Not a clue. I don't know if it's because she hasn't made up her mind or if it's because my visions are still screwed up."

She smiled. "I'm sure whatever she thinks of will be equal parts nerdy and corny, just as I'm sure you'll love it." Wrapping an arm around me, she pulled me into her side. "Besides, your visions are finally coming back. Be happy about that."

I snuggled into her side, once again thankful that I had such a great sister who could be both supportive and insulting at the same time. I knew that she was right, but however happy I was that my visions were returning, I couldn't help but wonder why. Why did they leave in the first place, why were they coming back now and why did I have the nagging feeling that it was all to do with Bella?

**A/N: Once again, I'm sorry if this isn't what you had in mind. I know that most of you want the big reveal and their date, but I need to build up to it. Also, to answer a question that was asked a while ago, there will be a villain and we will be seeing some danger soon, but right now it's about our two leading ladies. Hope it was okay and we'll see La Push next chapter.**

**R&R.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Okay, to thank you all for your patience, I shall make this chapter extra long and I will be getting to Alice and Bella's date in the next one. Also, for a reviewer whose name I can't remember (you know who you are), if you think that girl/girl relationships are "seriously nasty", why the hell are you reading this story after I explicitly told you that it was, in fact, a story about a girl/girl relationship? I don't care if you have your own opinions, but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep them to yourself because that is most definitely not constructive criticism, its prejudice.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Also, a tad bit of cursing (or do American's say swearing?) in this chapter, just thought I'd give you guys a heads up.**

BPOV

"Tell me again why we have to take my car?" I asked Angela, who was sitting in the front seat of my families Toyota while I was driving towards La Push. Eric, Ben and (shudder) Mike were all sitting in the back. The rest of our little 'group', namely Tyler, Lauren, Jessica and Katie were following behind in Katie's car, an old Ford Fiesta that seemed to be on its last legs with paint chipping and almost constant stalling.

She turned to face me, her hand still running over the leather of the seats with barely contained enjoyment. Apparently her car wasn't exactly a comfortable drive. "Someone threw a stink bomb inside Mikes van and locked the windows."

I glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Mike's eyes. It had been pure bad luck that landed him in my car. The plan had originally been me driving Angela and Mike taking the rest. Unfortunately, just as I was about to peel put of the parking lot in an effort to escape his forlorn puppy dog look, he had started waving me down. Now, I would have cheerfully ignored him, but Miss Goody-Two-Shoes in the seat beside me had seen him and been very sympathetic to his plight.

Mike leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, it's gonna take ages to air out the stink of rotten eggs." That same stench of rotten eggs was the main reason that I was so annoyed right now. They may not have been able to smell it, but Mike had been close to the van and his clothes reeked of the stuff. Sometimes, heightened senses were a real pain.

Casually lowering my window down a bit more, I followed the directions that Angela gave me until we reached the secluded area known as First Beach, which was a few miles past the invisible treaty line my family had established with the Quileutes.

Now, living with people who couldn't go out in sunlight meant that I'd never been to a proper beach before, but I'm fairly certain that it was supposed to be warm and have nice golden sand and crystal blue waters. Not that I was expecting exactly that, we did live in Washington after all, but I had assumed that we would get something along those lines. Instead, we got freezing cold weather, grey, choppy water and sand that was more like a collection of pebbles and sticks. The wind whipped around us as we got out of the car, tearing at clothes and hats, catching our hair in a whirlwind of strands. The huge cliffs on either side of us loomed over the scene, like watchful giants protecting their lands. All in all, I thought the place was great. The humans around me shivered and I made an effort to seem cold, wrapping my arms around myself and pulling my jacket tighter.

Lauren and Jessica double-team glared at Mike, scowls on their faces. "Great day you picked for a beach trip. It's freezing."

Mike grinned and opened his arms wide. "Don't worry about it. If it comes down to it, we can huddle together for warmth."

Eric laughed and ran forward, clocking Mike on the back of the head. "Hey, Romeo, stop chatting up the ladies and race me to the water. Last one in has to air out your van." He took off before Mike could hit him back and they both ran for the water, trying their damndest to knock each other over on the way.

"Boys," I sighed, walking down towards the water with Angela falling into step behind me.

"Speaking of, a lot of the guys in the school have their eye out for you. Seen anything you like?" She looked over at me, her brown eyes peeking out from her bangs like a lioness hiding in the long grass, waiting to pounce. She may not have been a gossip monger, selling secrets like they were candy, but she did love gossip as much as the next person.

I blushed slightly, wondering how she'd react when she eventually found out about Alice. She didn't seem like the kind of person to be prejudiced and I knew that she'd support me, but I still didn't feel comfortable telling her just yet. Besides, I didn't even know where Alice and I stood. I mean, we kissed and were going out on a date, but for all I knew, it might not even work out and at the moment, I had no idea what to call our strange relationship. It was too soon for girlfriend, but we were definitely past being just friends.

Unfortunately, I was silent for too long and Angela pounced. "Oh my God, you're blushing! There _is _someone, isn't there." At my lack of response, she pressed onwards. "Come _on, _you can't just leave me hanging. Who is he, are you guys an item, or is it just a crush, have you kissed yet, was it any good, do you have any plans?"

I raised my hands for protection. "Whoa! Calm down, girl. I don't really know where we stand."

Her eyes lit up. "So who is it?"

I shifted uncomfortably, watching Tyler toss some Beachwood into a pile while Mike surrounded it with stones. "Angela, like I said, I'm not really sure where we stand, so I'd prefer not to say anything until I'm certain."

She pouted, looking so much like Alice that I couldn't help but laugh. "Fine, but when you're sure, you have to tell me everything." She put her hand on my arm to stop me. "Just tell me one thing now. Whoever this guy is, do you really like him?"

I didn't even hesitate in my answer. "Hell yes." She didn't need to know right at this moment that the 'guy' I liked was actually a girl. That would just narrow down the suspect pool and she'd get it right away. Which I wasn't ready for.

Angela smiled happily and I responded in kind. She really was a nice person, so unlike Jessica or Lauren that it was almost inconceivable that she considered them friends.

"Hey, Bella! Angela! Are you guys gonna help or do we have to do everything ourselves?" We turned to find Katie fighting to get out three boogie boards from her car, Tyler standing behind her carrying a cooler full of soft drinks and other assorted snacks. The grin on his face as he watched Katie struggle was mischievous and not a little googly-eyed. Someone had a crush.

Trotting back to the car, I took the boards off Katie before she fell over and injured herself. They were fairly big, two of them proudly bearing the logo for the Green Lantern and the last one stating, 'Bitches, hands off ma' board'. I was going to take a wild guess and say that they belonged to the guys.

She gave them over gratefully, brushing her unruly mane of dark hair from her face. "Thanks. At least _some _people are helpful around here," she stated, throwing a glare at Tyler.

"I had the cooler!" His voice came out as nothing short of defensive and as Katie poked him in the side, he jerked and almost dropped the blue container.

"You could have put it _down_."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I should really keep this with me at all times. Ya know, in case…something…happens." He gripped the cooler tighter and took a step away from Katie's penetrating stare. "I'll just put this beside the camp." Before anyone could protest, he ran in the direction of the other guys and their pile of would that would someday grow up to be an actual campfire.

"He totally has beer in that cooler. Why he's hiding it, I have no idea, because if he thinks that I'm gonna let him get drunk without sharing, then he has another thing coming," Katie said nonchalantly, taking out the last two, mercifully blank, boogie boards and handing them to the silent Angela, who was avidly watching Ben run around in a skin tight swim suit, the kind professional scuba divers wear.

I nudged her on the shoulder. "Angela, for God's sake, keep your eyes to yourself."

She turned beet-red and hid behind the board, shielding her face from Katie's full-out laughter. "Don't worry Angela; I don't think any less of you. He does have a fine ass."

As we walked towards the guys and I thought about how Katie's words had turned Angela's face into a lovely shade of maroon that would look great in my room, I heard a slight shuffle of leaves and the crack of a small twig.

Zeroing in on the sound, I jerked my head around and laid eyes on a figure just inside the woods. He was hidden from the humans' sight and a subtle sniff of the air brought the scent of wolf towards my nose, though not one the few that I knew of. He was tall, standing at about six foot, but he seemed younger than the others. His brown hair was almost the exact same shade as a freshly fallen horse-chestnut, his eyes a deep black and his skin fairly tanned. Similar to the rest of them, he looked like he had taken up permanent residence in a gym and would physically harm anyone that told him he had been working out for long enough.

The only clothing he wore was a battered pair of cut off shorts, I'm guessing in case he needed to wolf out quickly. That could only mean that he was going to be my babysitter, lest I decide to go on a murderous rampage because living with vampires stripped me of all moral values.

I caught his eye and nodded my head slightly to let him know that he'd been made. Okay, I've officially been watching way too many cop TV shows these days.

Shuffling embarrassedly, he nodded back before sitting down on a tree stump and angling himself for a better view of the beach. Well, at least there's only one and not the whole pack. It shouldn't affect my time here too much and it's not like I could blame them for wanting to keep an eye on me.

Turning back to the group, I placed the boards that I was carrying onto the ground beside the cooler, which Tyler was conveniently sitting on, and flopped down on the sand.

"Hmmm," I said slowly.

Angela, rummaging around in the snack bag, raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"I'm just realizing why it was a bad idea to sit down on wet sand."

"Why would you ever think that that was a good idea?"

"Honestly, the thought that my butt would get wet didn't actually cross my mind."

Snorting, she tossed me a plastic-wrapped cheese pretzel, something that I had personally added to the collection. On my way to opening the cheesy, crispy goodness, a pale feminine hand shot out and pulled it from my grasp.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Bella, wet butt or no wet butt, I'm not going to be the only girl boarding out there with the guys, and you promised that you'd go." Katie snatched my hand and pulled me towards the water, two boards stuffed haphazardly under one arm.

I looked back at the still un-opened pretzel lying forlornly on the beach, my fingers outstretched slightly. "But, my pretzel."

"Forget the pretzel. There's no time."

"Curse you, woman. Curse you to the fiery pits of Hell."

"Stop being so melodramatic and put this on." She handed me a swim suit that was a female version of the one Ben was wearing. As in, skin tight.

"You expect me to wear this thing?"

She faced me, already tugging her jacket off and walking backwards to a copse of trees that would shield her as she changed. "Damn right I do." Giving me one final 'do this or die' look, she disappeared behind the trees and the sound of clothing hitting the sand reached my ears moments later.

Sighing, I looked around for a place to change, finally setting on a big boulder that was just beside the water. Lichen and barnacles adorned its grey surface and seaweed pooled at its base like grass. Spray from the sea made the rock slick and shiny, reflecting the little light that the clouds allowed past their defenses.

Shrugging out of my clothing, I pulled on the 'swimsuit' and instantly blushed at how tightly it clung to my body. Now, I didn't consider myself a prude, but even I was having second thoughts about this thing. It was a deep gray color, with dark blue stripes running down the sides and ending just above my bare feet. It was way warmer than it looked and would easily protect the humans from the chilly water. As for protecting their modesty, well, that was a no.

"You ready?" Katie's voice was excited and I remembered that boogie-boarding was one of her favourite sports. From what Ben told me, she had even competed in several tournaments, placing fairly well in all of them. The sport itself was a mystery to me, seeming to be similar to surfing. I guessed that I'd have to learn as I went.

"Yeah. I'm coming out, just give me a minute."

"Bella, I can practically _hear _you blushing. Why, I don't know. It's not like you have anything to be embarrassed about, you look great." I heard her coming before her head popped around the boulder, so I had plenty of time to take a few steps back and wrap my arms around myself.

She sighed, looking hard done by. "Fine, if you don't wanna come out then that's your choice."

My eyebrows drew down in confusion. For the last few days, she had been asking everyone to go out at least once, providing us with the suits and boards, and promising eternal torment to anyone who refused. This new, reasonable Katie was suspicious and I didn't trust her in the least. "Really?"

She took a step forward. "Sure, I wouldn't want to force you. It's not like you promised that you'd go or anything." She took another step forward, peaceful smile on her face. "You can just wait here until we leave." By the time I realized what she was doing, only using super speed would have allowed me to stop her. Diving forward, she grabbed my clothes in one hand, which were folded neatly in a pile and took off towards the camp. Embarrassment completely forgotten, I took off after her, hair billowing out behind me and hand outstretched.

"Hey, get back here!" Her laughter rang back, full of joyful mirth. The pounding of feet on the sand filled the air, both of us kicking up dirt in our effort to reach our goal. Water had soaked into the ground and our feet sank down in a sticky mess as we ran.

Unable to help the laughter that bubbled from my throat, I picked up the pace and shot forward. She reached the camp before me and dove behind Mike.

"What the-?" His question cut off as he caught sight of me, wet from the spray and wearing a suit that looked poured on. Heat infused his face and to my eternal shock, he averted his eyes, angling his body away and quickly sitting down. Before I could question his strange behavior, Katie made a dash for the water, where Ben and Angela were already out, trying in vain to balance on the boards. I made a leap and tackled her, both of us rolling in the wet sand until we came to a stop at the waters edge, wrestling with my clothes.

"Give…it here!"

"No, it's…mine!"

Choking on laughter as we were, it was difficult to get the words out. Arms were flailing and hair was flying everywhere in the harsh wind. Finally, I pinned her, being extremely careful not to hurt her, and grabbed the clothes from her grasp. "Ha!" I raised them aloft, triumphantly jumping to my feet.

Still giggling madly on the floor, Katie managed to roll over and stagger to her feet. Throwing her arm around my shoulder, she towed me back to the camp to retrieve our boards. "See, that wasn't so hard was it. Plus, you made Mike very…happy." Once again, she dissolved in a fit of giggles, prompting me to look back at Mike, who was hunched over into himself with a mortified expression on his face. Oh dear God…

"Let's go boogie boarding now." My voice came out higher than I had intended. Grabbing both of our boards, I had to literally drag the still-laughing Katie to the water's edge and throw her in, taking great satisfaction in her yelp as she hit the freezing cold water.

The distinct sound of masculine laughter reached me over the waves and I faced the direction that it was coming from. The wolf-boy, still keeping watch over the humans and I, was doubled over with laughter, his entire form shaking with, his gaze shifting from me to Mike and back again.

Narrowing my eyes in his direction, I spread my arms wide and flung myself backwards into the water. My vision was instantly full of bubbles and ripples of light, the cool water covering me from head to toe. While I was under, I flipped and dove down to the sea bed, only a few feet under this close to shore. It was littered with tiny pebbles and twigs, each one in sharp detail to my eyes, which weren't deterred in the slightest by the water. My hair was sweeping around me in waves, each individual strand having a mind of its own as to the direction it took.

I really loved swimming, mainly because the feeling of weightlessness was reminiscent of flying, but also because of the way water effected light and made it dance and swirl. Being buoyant in this cold liquid was a wonderful feeling that I could never get enough of.

Unfortunately, Katie's sport of choice was very demanding. A hand shot down and pulled me upward by the arm. I broke the surface, glare firmly in place. Katie brandished my board at me, eager to get started. Her hair was plastered to the sides of her face, one thick strand completely covering her left eye.

"My God, I've never had so much trouble getting someone to go boarding before."

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Don't get you knickers in a twist." Taking the board from her hand, I faced the waves. "Okay, instruct me."

Boogie boarding, as it turned out, was insanely fun. The main objective, in my opinion at least, was to not fall off and look like an ass. Katie, being the only semi-professional among us was undoubtedly the best with myself coming in second thanks to my superior sense of balance. Angela wasn't too bad, staying on the board more often than not. On the occasions where she managed to stand up, she was more than a little shaky, but she had managed to ride out at least one full wave. Ben was iffy, neither good nor bad, but he did do a sort of back flip off his board to land in the water, which looked amazingly awesome, intended or not.

Eric, on the other hand, was in a whole class of his own. He had managed to stand up once, and then he had promptly fallen off. Usually, when one can't stand up while boarding, they resort to lying flat or kneeling. Eric, bless his poor, uncoordinated soul, couldn't even manage that, spending most of his time under his board instead of actually on it.

It carried on like that for a few hours, all of us having too much fun to leave. Eventually, Mike and Tyler had joined us, leaving the uncooperative Jessica and Lauren to gossip on the beach. On a more supernaturally related note, more than a few fish had attempted to flock towards me and only my frantic urging had kept them out of human sight. I'm fairly certain that the others thought the arm flailing was to help me balance, so I didn't have to worry about looking insane. The only way that it could have been better, was if there was a certain pixie with me but, alas, the stupid wolves just wouldn't let that happen.

I had been proudly standing up on my slab of foam board, successfully 'riding the wave' as Katie liked to put it and Angela had been getting back on hers from another wash out, when Mike yelled at us from his place at the shore.

"Hey guys! Time for the fire! Hurry up before all the marshmallows are gone!"

Brushing my soaking hair back from my face, I made my way to the beach, giving my body a few minutes to adjust to being on solid ground again after hours in water. Katie and Angela both tossed their boards down beside mine and flopped down beside the pile of wood that Mike was in the process of lighting. Taking out the thick wool blankets that we had brought for this occasion, I handed them out to everyone, much to the gratitude of the half-frozen Angela.

"Thanks, Bella," she said with a smile, wrapping it around her small frame.

"Brrr, I'm chilly," Katie mumbled out, tucked in her blanket as though it were a cocoon of warmth. "What's the hold up on that fire, Mike?"

He grunted in response, fiddling with the lighter in his hand. "I don't know what's wrong, it won't light. I think the wood's too wet."

Everyone groaned before Lauren's nasally voice cut through the air. "You were the one who was supposed to get the dry wood."

Mike glared at her, his frustration over his repeated failed attempts at lighting the fire coming to the fore. Before a fight could break out, I stood up from my cozy spot and took the lighter out of his hand. "Here, let me." Crouching down and using my body to shield my actions from prying eyes, I clicked my fingers and a small flame sprang up. Shooting a concentrated wave of warmth at the wood, I placed the flame onto the now dry patch and held it there until the kindling caught. The blue blaze, the colour coming from the salt in the wood, grew bigger as the guys cheered and I sat back down, re-wrapping the blanket and tossing the lighter to Mike.

Eric grinned, tossing a big bag of marshmallows and several sticks into the centre of the group. "Way to go, Bella."

Mike frowned. "How'd you do that?"

I smiled at him, picking up a stick and shoving a few white mushy squares onto one end before holding them out over the open flame. "My family and I used to go camping a lot. I picked up a few tricks here and there."

"Jeeze, Mike. Don't your parents own an outdoor equipment store?" Katie quipped, popping two marshmallows into her mouth, causing her cheeks to puff out while she chewed happily.

"It's not like I use the crap. I just work there," he defended, still not managing to look me directly in the eyes since the little 'incident' earlier.

I pulled one of the hot puffs of mallow from my stick and bit into it. The taste of caramelized sugar assaulted my taste buds, drowning out the taste of salt from the sea air. "Holy crap, this stuff tastes good."

"I know and you know what'd make it better?" Eric pulled out a few cans of beer from the cooler he had been protecting all day, handing them out. "There's only a few of them. We don't want to get drunk or anything, it's just fro a little fun. For anyone who doesn't want to try it, we got cans of Dr. Pepper and some cola." Angela and Ben refused, choosing cola instead, everyone else taking one. From what I understood, underage drinking was a natural part of the adolescent experience, so when my turn came around, I decided to see what beer tasted like. Big mistake.

I recoiled, my face twisted in disgust, the horrible after taste refusing to leave my mouth. The others chuckled at my facial expression, Angela patting my shoulder in sympathy. "Oh, God. That stuff is _rank_!" Spotting my unopened pretzel from earlier resting on the bag containing the snacks, I made a desperate grab for it. Tearing open the offending wrapper that dared to keep me from my relief, I practically moaned in ecstasy as I bit into the pastry, the taste of cheese and pretzel washing away the beer.

Katie sighed. "There she goes with that damn pretzel again. I swear the girl has an addiction."

Angela passed me a can of Dr. Pepper, which I downed in three long gulps.

Ben appraised me, gaze thoughtful. "Wow, you really hate beer."

I crumpled the empty can in my hand, flopping back against the log behind us. "Urgh. I guess a life of drugs and booze is out of the question now."

"Don't worry, there're still plenty of vices out there for you to exploit."

"Thanks Eric. I feel so much better."

He bowed his head. "I try." He turned back to his mallows, holding them out of reach before Mike could make a grab for them. Pulling off one of the gooey masses, he threw it at his friend, hitting him squarely in the forehead and watching through his laughter as it stuck firmly.

The sound of shuffling feet reached my ears from across the beach and I craned my head around to get a look at wolf-boy. His form was still where it had been when I had first spotted him, except now he was sitting down on one of the many fallen logs littering the forest. Well out of sight of prying human eyes, he was hunched slightly and from this distance he looked…lonely.

It must have sucked being forced to stay there for hours watching people have fun when you couldn't join in. I knew that from experience. On more than one occasion when I was a child, I had snuck away from my house and flown to the nearby town, watching the other kids my age playing, but still too untrained with my abilities to chance joining them.

The next sound that wafted from his direction was unmistakably the sound of a stomach rumbling. Glancing down at the unfinished pretzel in my hand and then back at the unknown werewolf, I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.

Trying to ignore it was doing no good, so before I could question whether or not it was a good idea, I shrugged the blanket off my shoulders and stood up. At the others questioning glances, I held up a finger. "I'll be right back." I grabbed my clothes and pulled them on over the now dry swim suit I was still wearing, putting my jacket on against the 'chill' that should have been affecting me.

Starting in the direction of the wolf, I saw him stiffen in response to my approach. The moon wasn't full, so the light it provided was limited, not that that was a problem for me, or the wolf, from the way his eyes tracked me unerringly.

I stopped about three feet away from him and stuck my hand out. "Hey there. I'm Bella."

He looked at my hand for a moment, confusion and suspicion written clearly on his face, before slowly taking it in his own, much larger one. I was surprised when his skin temperature turned out to be only slightly cooler than my own.

My surprise must have shown on my face, because he pulled his hand back and stared at me hard. "What?" His voice was strange, as though it should have been young, but being a wolf had deepened it before it's time.

"Sorry, it's just that, you're really warm."

He scoffed. "You're one to talk. It was like shaking hands with a furnace."

I grinned at him, trying to lighten the mood. "Are you calling me hot?"

He blushed furiously, eyes widening. "Wha-? No, not at all." He realized how that sounded and raised his hands in a panicked gesture. "Not that you're not an attractive woman, 'cause you _really _are, I just meant that you weren't, that I wasn't, that…"

My snickering cut him off, causing him to huff and scowl. "Sorry, again. What age are you?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"It's not like I'm recreating the Spanish Inquisition or anything, I'm just curious." I could understand his caution, but really, what was I going to do with his age? "Also, you never gave me your name."

Scratching the back of his neck in an almost nervous gesture, he said: "I'm fifteen and my name is Seth Clearwater."

I beamed at him. "See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Sitting down on the log he had just vacated, I leaned back against the tree growing behind it and folded my arms across my stomach. "I'd ask what you were doing here, but I already know the answer to that question."

He sat down across from me, still keeping a wary eye on me, but he seemed to have relaxed a bit now that he knew I wasn't going to attack him. "Can you blame us? You do live with vampires, after all."

I pursed my lips, annoyed. "How long have you been a wolf?"

"Almost a month."

"And have you ever actually met a vampire?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Not…yet."

"So you're basing your entire opinion of them on some ancient legends and, what, Hollywood movies? The only vampires that your pack has ever met are the Cullens and my family, both of whom are stand up people who've never done a thing to hurt you."

He shifted again, bringing his hand back up to scratch the back of his neck. "Sam said-."

"_Sam _said?" I shook my head. "Look, I know that vampires don't have the best reputation around, and you're kind were created to kill them and everything, but I don't think that it's too much to ask that you reserve your judgments for people whom you've actually met and who actually deserve it." I raised a hand to forestall his protest. "And don't bother trying to deny the fact that you're thinking about what I'm saying. You turned three months ago, and since then people have been shoving propaganda down your throat and expecting you to swallow it, like how vampires are soulless monsters and how you're meant to protect the world from them. I understand how you'd come to the conclusion you came to, but I also understand that you don't really know for sure that vampires are pure evil, or else you wouldn't let me get this far in my rant." I had always been pretty good at reading people and he seemed like an okay guy.

His expression was conflicted. "I don't trust vampires and even if I do meet them, I have no idea if I'll learn to like them…but I guess you may have a point. I don't really know them and I've never _officially _met them. Besides, you seem like an okay person, from what I've seen." Good to know that the animal friendly vibes were in full swing.

I clapped him on the shoulder, my naturally cheery mood coming back in force. "So, are you gonna wait here for the rest of the night, or are you gonna come and have some roasted marshmallows?" At his hesitation, I continued. "Oh, come on. It's not like I laced yours with rat poison in a sneaky attempt on your life. Besides, you can spy on me more easily if you're not hiding in the woods."

His eyes widened again, mouth parting slightly. "You want me to come and join you? Even after all I said about your family and the Cullen's?"

"I'm hoping that if you see what great people they are, then the tension between everyone can cool down a bit."

He snorted. "Not likely. Paul, for one, hates vamps and he's met the Cullen's plenty of times. Even Sam would have a hard time believing that they're anything other than monsters."

I shrugged. "Well, stony silence has gotten us nowhere."

"You're an insanely optimistic person, ya know that?"

I started back towards the beach, Seth hesitantly falling into step beside me. "It's been mentioned to me before, actually."

The guys seemed shocked to see me walking out of the woods with a complete stranger, which wasn't surprising in the least. "Hey, this is Seth. Seth, this is Angela, Ben, Katie, Eric, Mike, Jessica and Lauren." I gestured to each of them as I said their names, only Angela getting over her shock in time to give him a small wave. "Seth here was over on the other side of the beach with some friends and I caught him on his way home. Do you guys mind if he joins us?"

Mike looked between us. "Uh…no problem. Do you two…um, know each other?"

I sat down on the log, repositioning the blanket around my shoulders. I may not need it to keep warm, but it was really snuggly. "Judging from the way you keep looking between us and the inflection in your voice when you asked that question, I 'm going to assume that you want to know whether or not Seth and I are dating?" He started slightly as I handed Seth a stick and passed him the bag of marshmallows, putting my own stick over the fire. "The answer is no, by the way."

"Oh, well, that's…good, I guess."

Wolf-boy was snickering slightly and I spoke too low for human ears. "What the hell do you find so damn funny?"

He swallowed the mouthful of 'mallows, not even having the patience to roast them. He must have been really hungry. Sticking some more on the stick and holding them in front of the fire, he smiled slowly. "That guy totally has the hots for you. Not to mention his little episode earlier."

I groaned, trying valiantly to fight off a blush. "Oh, God. Could we _please _not go into that?"

Angela chose that moment to speak, looking curiously at Seth. "So, do you live here on the reservation?"

"Yup, born and raised."

That was basically the jist of the conversation for the next hour, everyone getting to know each other. I had to lie a good bit, but I really tried to be as truthful as possible. Seth, as it turned out, was a great guy. He was funny, kind and he seemed to really intend to make an effort on the whole 'no longer hating vampire-kind' issue. He still had to meet them, but he assured me that he was going to do his best. We had this particular conversation in voices too low for human ears whenever there was a split in between sentences. Keeping up with two conversations turned out to be fun, with him trying repeatedly to make me laugh and look insane. I'd like to say that he failed, but that would be a blatant lie.

All in all, everything went great.

That is, until Paul showed up.

I noticed him first, a faint whiff of wolf-scent on the air that I knew belonged to him from our last meeting. The faint crunch of leaves was the next clue, the final one being him standing just in the cover of trees, staring at Seth and me with barely suppressed rage. He jerked his head to the side, beckoning Seth to follow him.

Reluctantly, he stood up, putting down the can of cola he had been nursing for the better part of a half an hour. "I should probably go, it's getting pretty late and my parents will be wondering where I am. It was nice meeting you all."

They were sad to see him go. He left in the midst of 'good-bye's' and 'see you later man's' and made his way to Paul, who had retreated even further into the forest. I could practically _feel _the anger coming off of him and I felt a sudden spike of worry for the younger, less experienced wolf.

The both of them moved out of human hearing range, but the wind carried their voices to me clearly.

Seth spoke first, his voice calm, as though he were speaking to a wild animal that could spook at any minute. It was an apt analogy. "What are you doing here? I was the one assigned this duty, you're supposed to be patrolling with the rest of the Pack."

Paul's voice came next, tightly controlled but with an undercurrent of potential violence. "What am _I doing_? What the hell are _you_ doing? You were told to come here and watch her, not get all chummy and trade life stories!"

"Listen, Paul, she's not that bad. She's actually kinda nice, once you get to know her." His tone was defensive and slightly pleading, as though he were trying to convince the irate werewolf that he knew what he was doing. The human conversation continued on around me. I answered direct questions and nodded every now and then, but my focus was on the wolves.

"Oh come _on_! How stupid can you get? She lives with _vampires_, Seth. Bloodsucking freaks! Like you can believe anything that she says. For all we know, she could be here to spy on us. Sam should never have let—"

"Oh, so now you're questioning Sam? You think that he's making the wrong decision by letting her come here?"

"I _know _he's making the wrong decision. It's so damn obvious. For God's sake, am I the only one who sees what a bad move this is? Letting her come here like this. What do we even really know about her? She moved here with a family of vamps and she's not human. Does that sound like a recipe for trust to you?"

"Dammit Paul, would you tone down on the prejudice for a minute. Just because she lives with them doesn't mean that she's evil. Besides, we don't even really know if the vampires are evil."

There was a pause. A long pause. "What?" His voice was cold.

"I'm just saying. Bella made a good point and I saw your meeting with the Van Allen's and the Cullen's. They…didn't seem that bad."

"So its _Bella _now, is it? Should I really take it as a coincidence that as soon as you spend a few hours with her, you're suddenly on Team Fang?"

"It's not like that. You know full well that I was thinking along these lines for a while now. I mean, how could you not?"

"Yeah, and Sam's an idiot for letting it get this far. If I were Alpha—"

"You'd what? Forbid us from having our own opinions, make us cater to your every whim like your own personal servants. We all know full well what you'd do if you were Alpha, Paul, you spend enough time fantasizing about it. But there's something that you seem to keep forgetting. You're _not _the Alpha of the Pack, Sam is and even if he were to step down for whatever reason, Jake is next in line. So unless you plan to off the both of them, you'll _never _be the Alpha. Get used to it."

There was no pause this time, just a roar of rage, the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a pained grunt. I was on my feet I an instant. "I can't find my cell, I think I dropped it when I ran into Seth. I'll be back in a second." The similarities between this and the first time I'd up and left them in a hurry couldn't have escaped their notice, but they nodded anyway, although not without a few curious glances. Another pained grunt echoed from the forest.

I ran for the tree line, the sounds coming from the two werewolves becoming louder the closer I got. As soon as I was out of human sight, I shot forward, careening to a stop at the entrance to a clearing, transfixed by the sight before me.

The clearing was fairly big, huge trees climbing up on either side of me, swaying in the breeze. The purple light of twilight bathed it in an eerie glow, every leaf and rock, branch and twig casting a shadow that was almost lost in the shadow of the oncoming night. There were no animals, no birds singing in the trees, no mice scuttling under the branches, no insects burrowing in the soft earth.

That could have had something to do with the fact that it was almost night and many animals would be bedding down. Then again, it also might have had something to do with the amount of angry energy Paul was giving off. The ground showed the tell-tale signs of a scuffle, grass uprooted, leaves scattered, twigs snapped.

He stood at the far end of the clearing, hand wrapped around Seth's throat, malice clear in his eyes. Seth was pressed up against a tree, fingers wrapped around Paul's arm, no doubt the only thing stopping him from crushing his windpipe.

"You listen to me, you little twerp. It doesn't matter if I'm not the Alpha, I'm higher in the Pack than you and that means that you show me some respect or I swear to God, you'll regret it."

The younger wolf's eyes were wide with fear, his face paler than it should have been. He was a big guy, but Paul was bigger and no doubt a better fighter, seeing as he'd been in the pack longer.

In a lot of cases, people will turn fear into anger. It was why people hated what they couldn't understand, they feared it. In this case, Seth's fear of Paul turned into anger at being bullied by someone stronger than he was.

"You always did have issues with that temper of yours. You just blow up at the smallest of things, even when everyone else keeps their cool. That's another reason you'll never amount to anything in the Pack, you have no control. You've been a wolf longer than most, but you still act like a pup. It's pathetic."

Paul's eyes blazed, rage clear in their brown depths. He raised his hand. Seeing Seth flinch was what made my feet move, made me run over to the pair and grab Paul's hand before it could make contact.

He snarled and turned on me, the hand that was around Seth's throat coming around to strike down the person who dared to interfere. I ducked his blow and wrenched his arm around his back. Seth had only a second to get out of the way as I pushed Paul up against the tree he had been standing in front of only moments before.

"Let go of me, you bitch!"

"That's just rude," I snarled. "Now calm the hell down."

He struggled in my grip, legs kicking out to land blows on my shins, but I held tight. He jerked his head back, trying to hit my in the face and I shifted until my forearm was pressing against his head to keep it still. "Stop struggling."

He went still, breathing hard. "This is none of your business. Keep out of it."

I glanced at Seth. I wouldn't be happy about it, but if he wanted me to leave too, then I would. The look he gave me showcased how much he worried that I would listen to Paul and leave them alone to sort out this mess. I didn't budge.

"Yeah, I know, but I have this really annoying habit of putting myself in bad situations, so I might as well do it for a good cause."

"A good cause? What the hell would you know about it, you live with vampires?"

"Why do you all have such a problem with that? It's not like I'm joining a Satanic cult and sacrificing babies."

He scoffed, muscles tense with barely restrained anger.

"Look, I'm going to let you go, don't do anything stupid." I released his arm and took several steps back, watching him warily.

He spun around, lip curled in disgust as soon as he laid eyes on me. A low growl broke from his lips. My affinity with animals may have made them sense that I was a good person, but it didn't brainwash them. If they hated me already, my animal mojo wouldn't do a thing to stop it.

"Paul, enough. Sam gave her permission to be here." Seth's voice was slightly shaky, but he didn't let Paul's earlier behavior stop him from voicing his opinions.

Paul rounded on him. "She doesn't _belong _here! Why can't you see that? Has she you so wrapped around her little finger that you refuse to see the danger she is to us?"

"She hasn't done anything wrong. You can't blame her for what her family are."

"Like hell I can't. She could leave at any time, but she _chooses _to stay with those freaks."

"They're trying, Paul. They don't hunt humans."

"Oh, really? Well, did you ever wonder how many 'accidents' she's helped to cover up? How many of their slip-ups has she defended? They _can't _change, it's who they are and all she's doing is protecting them so that they can kill another day!"

I stiffened, my mind flashing back to a winter night and blood-stained snow. Shaking my head to get rid of the unwanted memory, I raised my hands in a soothing gesture. Not that I expected it to do anything, but still. "Look, there's no reason to fight about this right now. Just calm down and we'll all go our separate ways, okay?"

His growl deepened. "What the hell do you think gives you the right to tell me what to do? You're on _my _territory, _my _land!"

My patience was wearing thin, but I didn't want to do anything to escalate the situation. He was wound tighter than a guitar string and if he lost control of his wolf, it would be bad for everyone. "What the hell does that have to do with anything? I was given permission to be here, by _your _boss. Aren't you supposed to listen to him?"

"He didn't give direct orders for us to stay away from you and he doesn't want to 'abuse his power' by making us accept you. That's what makes him weak, he's not willing to do what has to be done. He should have ordered us to take out the Cullen's when they first came here, not tried to reinstate that pathetic treaty. And look what it's gotten us! We have two packs of leeches in town. He missed his chance, he fucked up!"

I took a step back from the mad glint in his eye. I really hadn't noticed up until this point how unhinged Paul was. He hated vampires way more than he had reason to and I thanked God that he wasn't in charge of the Pack, for their sake and ours.

"Paul, let's just go home, okay?" Seth took a step forward and put his hand on his shoulder. I knew that it was a mistake the moment it happened.

His eyes flashed dangerously and his fist shot out, hitting Seth squarely on the jaw. He was thrown back, slamming into the ground. "You're siding with _her_! Over your own Packmate!"

He turned on one foot, face twisted in rage. "What the hell did you do to him, you witch!" He roared and ran full tilt towards me.

I sidestepped him easily and spun to keep him in sight. "Paul, stop. There are humans nearby." They were pretty far away, well out of hearing range, but if this became a full out fight, it might lead towards them.

"I said don't tell me what to do!" He ran at me again and this time, I hooked my foot around his leg and knocked him to the floor.

He rolled to a stop, his momentum carrying him several feet. He pushed off with the palm of his hands and sprang up, his body actually shaking with rage.

I knew something bad was going to happen a split second before the shaking developed into full-blown tremors. "Paul, no!" Seth yelled, but it was too late. His form exploded, a huge, dark gray wolf coming to land in his place. Oh shit.

He barreled towards me, this time as a much more formidable opponent. I dove to the side and rolled to absorb the impact, his huge body brushing past me.

Jumping to my feet straight from the roll, I faced him head on. My patience had finally ran out. "Fine! If you won't listen to reason and you're gonna force me to fight, then bring it on Pluto."

He roared, wickedly curved teeth glinting in the faint light from the setting sun. When he started forward, I sprang into another roll, sliding in under his legs. I placed my feet on his underbelly and pushed, watching in satisfaction as he was thrown off of me to land in a heap.

His paws lashed out, grazing against my skin and leaving a thin trail of blood. My eyes silvered under the glamour cast by the ring, my body temperature rising in response to the emotions running through me.

I pushed off the ground, flipping in mid-air to land in a crouch on top of a large boulder on the other side of the clearing. The fire inside my body arched out, sending a wave of super-heated air slamming into Paul, causing him to duck his head to protect his eyes, his fur blowing backwards like the grass on an open plain.

His growl came back, louder than ever. His body tensed, his haunches bunched. I'd spent enough time with animals to know that he was about to lunge at me, so I tensed myself to meet him head on.

The potential energy stored in his body exploded into action, propelling him towards me in a dark grey streak. I launched myself off the rock…only to pass through open air when something large and light brown slammed into Paul and knocked him out of my path.

I hit the ground on the palms of my hands and pushed off to land on my feet, spinning around to see the wolves. They were going at it like two, well, wolves, snapping and snarling at each other, each one trying to get their teeth around the other's throat.

I couldn't find an opening, so I had to wait until one of them got the upper hand. It was no surprise when Paul slammed Seth down into the ground, teeth buried deep into his neck. Unfortunately for him, he was left wide open.

I focused my attention on the heat inside of me. It leapt to my call, joyous at the chance to be free, to run wild, to burn. Its power was seductive, glorious and above all, dangerous. I raised my hand, a dark blue fireball coming to life between my curved fingers. It danced and waved in the wind, swaying forward and back. I took aim and let it loose, watching as it impacted with Paul's hindquarters. He jerked, teeth releasing the smaller wolf and howled in pain, rolling on his side to put out the flames. The smell of burnt hair and scorched flesh filled the clearing.

I had made it small and low-heat, so as not to hurt him too seriously, but a large portion of the fur on his haunches was gone, the fire hot enough to remove hair but not enough to burn through flesh to bone. The skin under the missing fur was an angry red, blisters already forming. Werewolves may have an enhanced healing ability, but that wasn't normal fire.

Seth was crouched down a few steps away from Paul, dark red blood running down his neck, soaking his fur. Paul had really hurt him. I knew that he had been pissed, but I'd never imagined that he'd actually hurt him. Not seriously.

I was about to run over to Seth, to help him, when a howl of rage that didn't belong to either of the wolves in front of me split the silence. I turned just in time to see a silver blur shoot out of the trees and slam into Paul, teeth flashing and claws rending.

He tried to defend himself, but the new silver wolf was ferocious and completely unforgiving. It kept attacking until Paul was cowering on the floor, tail between his legs. The silver wolf grabbed him by the ruff with its teeth and stood over him, exuding dominance.

As soon as the flurry of motion stopped, I got a better look at the newcomer and I was shocked to see that it was smaller than Paul and that it was female. Her silver fur glinted in the last dregs of sunlight like slivers of the precious metal. She was slim and lean, clearly built for speed but she also had the muscles necessary to win in a fight against Paul, who despite being bigger than her, was nowhere near as skilled.

I heard the sound of running feet before two more wolves broke though the tree line that I recognized as Quil and Embry. Sam and Jacob came next, in human form, both of which had angry expressions on their faces. For a second I worried that their ire was directed at me, but they only had eyes for Paul, still in the grip of the silver female.

"Leah, let him go. Paul, shift back. Now!" Sam's voice was thick with authority, and both wolves obeyed, although not before Leah nipped him roughly on the ear, earning her a yelp of pain from Paul.

Leah immediately went to Seth, whining worriedly and nuzzling him on the shoulder. His neck was bleeding freely now, a fair amount of blood pouring out, the ground under him soaked with it. I felt panicked. How much blood loss could a werewolf endure?

Paul whimpered and began shifting back, bones sliding around under his flesh and fur receding to leave behind human skin. When he was fully changed back, he wobbled to his feet, completely naked. Any embarrassment I would normally have felt was completely over-ridden by anger. How could he hurt someone as sweet as Seth? It just wasn't right.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Sam roared as soon as Paul was human again and I saw him flinch. "How could you attack someone from your own Pack? Someone who was only following my orders."

Paul's eyebrows drew down, a flicker of that intense anger burning through his eyes again. "He wasn't just 'following orders'. You told him to watch her and he fucking joined their party!"

Sam's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't you dare raise your voice to me. Not now, not after what you did. Bella was here with my permission, you had no right to attack her and you certainly had no right to attack Seth. He's your Packmate! Does that mean nothing to you?"

Paul glanced at Seth, seeing clearly the damage he'd done. Seth was crouched down even lower, the blood flow still fairly strong.

"Why isn't he healing?" My voice seemed to surprise them, as though none of them had expected little 'ol me to speak.

Sam looked at me, appraising me. "Wounds caused by vampires or other werewolves take longer to heal. Also, he's young, not fully come into his abilities yet."

The silver wolf crouching protectively over Seth, Leah, shivered and blurred, coalescing into the form of a young woman, only a little older than me. She had deep black hair that reached past her shoulders, tanned, russet colored skin and dark brown eyes. She too, was naked. Now, seeing Paul in that state hadn't bothered me because, firstly, I hated his guts and secondly, I was gay. Leah on the other hand…

I blushed furiously and stared her straight in the eye, pretending that anything below chin level didn't exist for the moment.

She looked from Seth to Sam. "Sam, his neck wound's pretty bad, Paul hit the carotid. I think that we should get him to my mom."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Sam was staring at Seth with newly worried eyes and even Paul looked pale and regretful.

"Leah, hold your hands against the wound, try to stem the bleeding. We need to get some medical supplies here and we need them now." Seth laid down on his side, placing his head in Leah's lap. She stroked his head soothingly, the gesture full of care and affection.

Quil, still in wolf from whined and jerked his head towards the forest, raising one paw. "Okay, Quil, you get the medical supplies. You know where they are. Hurry."

Quil took of running, leaving a trail of fluttering leaves in his wake. Seth's whimper was almost a gurgle and a new flash of panic hit me. Just how badly did Paul screw up? Leah's face was pale, worry clear in her eyes. From what Seth had told me, she was his older sister and they were very close.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Paul said, taking a step towards the siblings. Leah snarled venomously, stopping him in his tracks.

"Don't you dare try to apologize! Seth has only been a wolf for less than a month. He's not as strong as you and he can't heal like an adult wolf can. You knew just how to hurt him and you acted on it! And for what? Because he was having fun? Because he challenged you? Why, Paul? What reason could you give now that would explain this?" Her voice cut through him like a steel knife, making him flinch visibly.

"I…I was angry, I—"

"You're _always _angry! You never think, you just act and you don't care about the consequences! Well now my brother being seriously hurt is one of those consequences and I'll be damned if I let you get away with it this time!"

Seth whimpered in pain and my resolve broke. Secrecy be damned. "I can help him."

Their gazes snapped to me like heat seeking missiles. "What do you mean?" Leah demanded, not trusting someone she just met with her brother's well being. Her arms tightened on his huge frame protectively, which looked strange considering the size difference.

"I mean I can…" I took a deep breath. "I can heal him."

Eyes widened around the clearing, then narrowed suspiciously. I sighed. "Look, we don't have time to stand around and play 'guess who's lying'. Seth is in pain and I can help him, so let me." I looked Leah in the eyes. "Please."

She nodded slowly, carefully and I walked towards them, crouching down and placing my hands on Seth's neck.

"Wait." Her tone was nervous, worried and undecided. "I don't…" She trailed off, looking uncertain. Her arms tightened again and she leaned over him slightly.

Almost growling in frustration, I stood up. "Fine." Glancing at Paul, I beckoned him over. "Come here."

"What, why?"

"Oh, for God's sake." I strode over to him and grabbed his hand, leveling a glare at him when he threatened to pull away. He might still have pulled away had I not allowed my irises to glow dark blue with flame, reminding him of what I could do.

Completely uncaring about whether or not it hurt, I conjured a small flame and pressed it to the underside of his forearm. He yelped and tried again to pull away, but I held him tightly. Showing them the burn etched into his skin I pressed the palm of my hand against it and called to the energy inside me.

There are many different types of energy. Some can be violent, some can be calm, some can be hot and some can be cold, some can crackle and others still can roll in waves. The fire that I could call was hot and violent, a raging sea of flame that yearned to be released. This energy was calm, but warm, like a summer breeze, and full of life. My hand glowed a light blue as I poured the energy into Paul, feeling every hurt that littered his body, but focusing only on this small space. It was his fault that he got the others and he could deal with it himself.

I could feel the burn healing, feel burnt flesh smoothing out, leaving behind no trace of a scar. Pulling away my hand, I looked up into Paul's face, could see the awe and rapture in his eyes. I had been told that being healed felt very good.

I raised his arm and showed them the result. "Good enough?"

They were staring at me as though they had never seen me before. Leah nodded, mouth parted slightly.

"Finally," I muttered, my worry over Seth transforming into bitchiness. Walking over to them again, I placed my hands on his ruined neck and felt for the damage.

It was a lot more serious than I'd first thought, his carotid artery nearly shredded, the flesh around it torn and gaping. Only his status as a werewolf had kept him alive. Feeling another wave of anger at Paul for his reckless actions, I repeated the process with Seth, his muscles and skin knitting back together under my hands, removing all traces of the damage.

When I was finished, I sat back on my heels, feeling slightly light-headed. Healing really takes it out of you. I could heal plenty of humans, but supernaturals were more tiring.

Seth rolled over and pushed himself to his feet, moving his neck experimentally. Leah smiled, looking at me with gratitude and wonder. "Thank you." Seemingly without thinking, she threw her arms around my neck, pulling me into a huge hug. That would have been fine…had she been wearing any clothing. I made a choked noise, my face heating up like a bonfire. She froze, realizing her own unclothed state. Pulling away from me sharply, she took a step backwards. Now that her brother wasn't hovering on the edge of death, she seemed embarrassed to be naked in front of a stranger. Still blushing, I tugged off my jacket and handed it to her wordlessly. She took it with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," I said in a voice that was at least one octave higher than normal. The jacket I had given her was long enough to reach mid-thigh and I thanked God that I had chosen to wear it today. Her eyes widened when she put it on and I could see her discreetly sniff the fabric, her brows raised in approval. Jacob was watching me intensely, which I chose to ignore because it was kinda weird.

Seth yipped happily and his tongue lolled out to lick me on the side of the face. I instantly recoiled, my face reminiscent of when I'd tasted the beer. "Ew, Seth! That's gross." He made a noise that I could only assume was laughter.

Sam took a step towards me. "Bella, that was…amazing. Thank you and on behalf of the entire Pack, I would like to apologize for Paul's actions tonight. They were unforgivable." He glared heatedly at the wolf in question. "Paul, do you have anything to say?"

Paul stared hard at me. I could see hatred glittering in their dark depths, but he forced out an 'I'm sorry' between clenched teeth. I gave him a cold nod, turning back to Seth. "You good?" He yipped again in affirmation, tail wagging so furiously I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. His puppy-dog attitude kinda reminded me of Mike. Oh, crap.

"Um, I really gotta go. They'll be wondering where I am."

Jacob stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Wait, you're not going to explain how you did what you did?"

"Nope," I stated, already running at a human pace back towards the beach. "See you guys some other time." I left them standing there, looking insanely curious and unsatisfied. I was within human view of the camp when I heard Quil return at a furious pace and then stop suddenly.

"We'll explain later. Let's go home. And Paul, you are in some deep shit." Their footsteps faded as I made it to the camp.

Mike stood up. "There you are, we were just gonna send out a search party."

"Sorry."

Angela nudged me from her position on the floor. "Did you find your cell?"

My brows drew down in confusion before I remembered my lie. "Um, no, I guess I left it at home."

Katie shook her head. "Speaking of home, we should head out. It's getting real late." I nodded in agreement.

After packing up all of the stuff and banking the fire, we piled into our respective cars and headed home. I dropped everyone taking a ride in my car off at their houses, saying goodbyes and exchanging hugs (Mike held on a little too long) and made my way to my own house, buried deep in the woods.

It took me about ten minutes driving at the speed limit and when I pulled into the driveway, Clare was already there. This wasn't going to be pretty.

I stepped out of the car and walked towards her. She had a happy smile on her face, one she had worn since I told her about Alice. "Welcome back. How was the beach trip with your friends? Did you have fun?"

"Oh, yeah I had great fun. We went boogie boarding, roasted marshmallows, I tried beer, we got to know each other better, I got into a fight with a werewolf. It was great." I gave her a quick hug and walked into the house, her face still a mix between shock and confusion.

"Hey guys, I'm home," I called, knowing full well that they had heard my admission.

"Wait just one minute there, missy." Clare blurred in front of me, placing her hands on her hips. The rest of my family wandered in. Micheal, from the basement where he kept his carving and art equipment, Jesse and Lee from their room upstairs where they kept their…bed.

Micheal had a crushed chisel in one hand, which kept bending as he applied more force, his face the face of a man harboring dark thoughts. "Did they hurt you?" He took in a deep breath, eyes turning into slits. "I smell blood, your blood. What happened?" The scratches on my arm had healed, but a bit of blood had soaked into the shirt I was wearing, preserving the scent.

"That's nothing, just a scratch. You should see he other guy."

"Oh, I will. Once you give me his name and general description."

"Dad, let's not over-react here. It was more of a skirmish, anyways."

Lee had his arms around Jesse, scowls on both of their faces. "It doesn't matter what it was, they hurt you. That's a violation of the treaty."

I held up a finger. "A treaty from which I'm exempt, remember."

"Tell us what happened," Clare said, moving the shirt to get a better look at my arm to make sure I was okay.

I gave them the run down, starting with my day on the beach with my human friends and ending with me healing Seth and booking.

We had moved into the living room during the course of my story and now we were arranged on the various seats, a hearty fire blazing in the fireplace. Vampires, and me for that matter, may not need warmth to survive, but it made the room cozier.

By the time I finished, they had relaxed somewhat, but they still looked pissed and on the verge of going over to La Push to 'castrate the little bastard'. Jesse's words, not mine.

"Fine, we won't go over there, but they'd better put that damned mutt on a tight leash, or I'll do it myself," Lee stated, glaring into the fire. Sanderson was curled up in front of it, twitching every now and then, as though his dream-self were running towards something. Knowing him, it'd probably be to a fluffy cushion being held aloft by Cherubs. That cat really loved sleeping.

"Look, guys. You know how I get after I've healed someone. I'm gonna go and take a nap."

I was halfway to the stairs when Jesse called out to me. "Hey sis, I forgot to mention, you got a delivery while you were out. I left it on your bed. Also, could you take a shower. Normally, you smell great, but right now you stink of wet dog."

I smiled without turning around. "Thanks, Jess. See you in a few hours." After they'd said goodnight, they went back to what they'd been doing before I got home and I went up to my room.

I took a long, hot shower first, washing the salt out of my hair and the 'dog-stink' off of my skin. The werewolves didn't smell bad to me, but from the crinkled noses of my family, they wouldn't agree with me. I shrugged on a pair of pajama pants and a green tank top for bed.

Closing the door to the bathroom behind me, I hopped up onto my bed, which was at about eye-level and looked at the package resting there. It was a plain brown box about one foot across, with a white sticker with my address and name on it in a beautiful flowing script. Pushing aside worries of bombs and those boxing gloves attached to springs that lunge out at you and hit you in the face, I pulled the box onto my lap and opened it.

It was full of those white, foam, peanut shaped things used in shipping. I ruffled around in it for a moment before my hand touched a square of plastic. Pulling it out, I realized that it was a sleek, black phone a split second before it started ringing. That wasn't creepy at all.

I answered it, half expecting the person on the other line to be using a voice synthesizer and saying 'I'm watching you…'. Instead, I was met with a cheery, feminine voice that sounded like wind chimes. "Hey, Bella."

"Alice?"

"Who else?"

I chuckled, feeling supremely relaxed and much happier now that I could near her voice. "What's up with the box and phone?"

I could almost hear her shrugging on the other end. "I wanted to call you and for that to work, you needed a phone for me to call."

"You didn't have to buy me one."

"What, so I'm not allowed to get you gifts? That's no fair, I love giving people gifts."

"Fine, but that means that I get to give you things too."

"Ooh, I _love _getting presents. What kinds of things?"

"What, so my general presence isn't enough for you, you need material goods too?"

"I don't _need _them, but I'd enjoy life much better if they were in it."

"In that case, I'll bring something to give to you on Friday. It's my understanding that the act of gift-giving is common among courting couples."

There was a slight pause on the other end, then delicate laughter.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Sometimes you say the weirdest things."

"Really? You know, I've been told that before, but personally, I've never noticed it."

"If you'd like, I could point them all out to you so you can better blend in with the sane people."

"Ha-ha, very funny. Speaking of weird things, how did you know to call me at the exact moment that picked up the phone?"

There was a longer pause. "Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it on Friday. Then you can decide if I'm too weird for you to 'court'."

I rolled onto my stomach and idly played with some of the foam peanuts. "Trust me, Alice, no matter how weird you are, I've got you beat."

She laughed. "Of that, I have no doubt."

"It's actually kinda weird for some reason, talking to you on the phone I mean."

"Well, what choice do I have, it's not like I can sneak into your room under your parents noses. You do live with vampires, after all."

"True. So, if you don't mind me asking, how's your hunting trip going?"

"It's going as good as a hunting trip can go. The nature preserve is surprisingly well-stocked."

"Any particular favorites?"

"I'm partial to bear, or mountain lion, if I can get it."

"Tell her to try some squirrel!" Jesse called from her room.

I covered the mic, a useless practice seeing as Alice could hear whether I did it or not. "Thanks for the input, Jesse, now butt out! It's a _private _conversation. Look up the word if it's confusing you."

Putting the receiver back to my ear, I heard Alice chuckling. "Sorry, but apparently the squirrel is particularly good this time of year."

"You know, I might just take her up on that offer."

"Just don't drink too much of them. I swear she gets drunk off squirrels." The sleepiness that came with healing a supernatural creature came back and hit me full force, causing me to full-out yawn, something that rarely happened to me.

"You're tired," Alice stated, sounding concerned.

"What gave me away? Was it the yawning? It was the yawning, wasn't it?"

"Oh shut up, smart alec."

My reply was cut off by another yawn.

"Aw, is it past your bed time?"

"I'm a wild party animal, we don't have bed times."

"Oh, but of course." I heard another voice in the background. "Alice, say goodnight to your girlfriend and come on. We're here to hunt, not whisper sweet nothings." Rosalie.

Alice sighed in annoyance, reluctant to hang up the phone. "Relax, Alice. Go hunt. I'll see you on Friday."

"With my present?"

I laughed. "Yes, Alice, with your present."

I could hear the grin in her voice when she next spoke. "Goodnight Bella."

"Goodnight Alice."

We hung up, which took me a moment, considering I'd never seen a phone like this one before.

I brushed my teeth and slid into bed, wrapping myself in the silky covers. I could hear the soft, padding steps of a cat as Sanderson abandoned his space in front of the fire and came up to my room, snuggling in to my side and purring furiously.

I had always found cats' purring soothing and it was expected when I went to bed, seeing as Sanderson always slept beside me whenever I slept, but what made me smile as I fell asleep that night was Rosalie's words. _'Alice, say goodnight to your girlfriend."_

Girlfriend. That sounded really good.

**A/N: I'm so sleepy. It's six a.m. and I haven't gone to bed yet 'cause I wanted to get this up tonight. Hope you enjoyed it. Although, as always, these chapters are done without the help of a beta and at the moment, I'm running on fumes, so any typos that you see, I shall fix them in the morning… But still, 13'037 words. Now, **_**that **_**is my longest chapter ever.**

**Next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for. Yay!**

**R&R. Goodnight!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Wow, I am a terrible person to have kept you all waiting for so long. I really wanted to get this chapter up sooner, but my first semester collage exams caught up with me, not to mention my first ever case of serious writers block, which really sucks by the way. I couldn't get this chapter the way I wanted for the longest time and I hope that I managed at least a modest standard. Again, sorry for the delay, but real life cannot be put on hold. (Believe me, I've tried.)**

**Anyhow, you should probably thank Layfra02 for making me feel so guilty that I spent a few hours trying to finish this chapter. Yay for guilt-trips!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

BPOV

It was a beautiful morning, the sun that prevented my family from going to school was just rising, turning the few clouds there were into glowing puff balls in the sky. A scattering of raindrops still dampened the huge balcony outside my bedroom from the sun shower that had happened moments before and the air had that fresh, crisp scent that always came after such an event.

I was lounging in the hammock that Jesse had installed for me on the edge of the balcony, strung between two of the dark-wood poles that had been placed there for that very purpose. It was windy out, so the hammock rocked back and forth, a soothing motion that had put me into a sort of meditative state. Sanderson was curled up near my shoulder, one paw resting on my ear, his purring loud due to the close proximity.

Other than flying, lounging in the hammock was my favourite thing to do when I felt the need to relax. Currently, I had two reasons to do that. Reason number one, was that the police had called, asking for me to come in 'at a time that was convenient for me' to give my statement on what had happened last week. Although I had to admit, these cops were a lot nicer than the ones in our last town.

Reason number two, and by far the one that was making me the most nervous, was that it was Friday, which meant my date with Alice. I had dealt with police officers before, but dates? Not so much. I was excited, that much was clear. Then again, who wouldn't be? I was going on a date with _Alice Cullen._ But I was still nervous, afraid that I'd screw up and make an ass of myself. Not to mention the fact that I was going to tell her about me.

Normally, I wouldn't even consider telling someone I had just met a few weeks ago, but I wanted a relationship with her and it wouldn't be fair to her to have to go in blind. Not that that made it any easier. I had told my parents that the damage had already been done and putting a name to it wouldn't make much of a difference, but the truth was that it would make a huge difference. It wasn't exactly something that you could just shrug off.

"Oh Sandy, life is so simple for a cat," I sighed. "If you found a nice tabby, you could just bring her a dead mouse and she'd be happy." I scratched him behind the ear, smiling slightly as he made a sleepy meow and stretched into a more comfortable position, his paw moving from my ear to my cheek, his face nuzzling into my neck.

The mention of a gift brought my eyes to the leather wrapped tube with a carrying strap lying on my bed, the kind old-fashioned pages used to deliver the messages, which I could see through the glass double doors that led to the balcony. It was better than a dead mouse, but I fervently hoped that she liked it. I had been agonizing over what to get her for the entire week; using our nightly phone calls to weasel out information discreetly. That was also how I'd found out what to do for our date tonight and I thanked God that Alice was very forthcoming about her hobbies and interests.

I smiled again. Ever since that first time, Alice had called every night at the same time, like clockwork and I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd been caught staring at the phone in anticipation more than once by my family members, much to their amusement.

"Bella! Pancakes are done!" Clare's voice jolted me out of my silent contemplation of the box and my face lit up. I lovedpancakes.

"Sorry dude, I gotta go," I muttered to Sanderson, lifting him off of me and putting him back down on the hammock, feeling irrationally guilty as he hooked his claws in my t-shirt in a vain effort to get me to stay. Unhooking them gently, I patted him apologetically on the head and trotted downstairs to the kitchen, the scent of pancakes, maple syrup and orange juice permeating the house.

Our kitchen was a nice one, full of stainless steel appliances and more of the dark-wood that was common in our home. There was a central eating area, bigger than was strictly necessary for a household in which only one person actually ate food, made of black marble with a few wooden seats placed in front of it. A plate of pancakes was already there, glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and container of syrup resting quietly beside it.

"Better eat it before it gets cold." Clare said, smiling as she finished putting away the equipment she'd used for cooking. She had never been much of a chef when she was human, and had never had a reason to for decades when she became a vampire, but she'd really stepped up when I came along, even going so far as to take classes, which I still wished I could have seen. I could just imagine her staring confusedly at a skillet, while sneakily eyeing the person beside her to see what they were doing.

Lee scoffed from his spot on the counter, the book he had been reading while conversing with our mother figure resting in his lap. "Like that would bother her. Bella would dig a whole to the center of the earth if it meant getting to blueberry pancakes. Or pretzels, or croissants, or any kind of fruit." He turned to look at me, affectionately ruffling my hair into complete disarray. "You know, for someone who eats as little as you do, you sure love food."

I scowled at him, the threat ruined by me taking a huge bite of blueberry pancakes.

"So, what time is Alice arriving at?" Clare asked, her short blond hair falling into her eyes as she spoke.

I glanced up at her, trying to gauge her mood. "She's coming to pick me up at seven." I had tried to convince her to let me pick her up, but she had insisted that if I was organizing the date, the least she could do was drive. I had the sneaking suspicion that she just wanted to show me her car, which she seemed to be in love with, if our conversations were any indication. She is one stubborn little pixie and it was only after I'd given her directions and said she could drive did she stop using the 'pouty voice'.

"Good, that'll give us plenty of time to get to know her."

I narrowed my eyes. "Mom, you have to promise me that you won't do anything drastic."

Her eyes widened innocently. "Like what? When have we ever done anything drastic?"

I had to stop my mouth from gaping open. "What about that time when I was thirteen and that boy, Dale, asked if I'd like to go to the water park with him?"

"That was completely different. And it wasn't _that_ bad."

I gave her a flat stare. "Dad pretended to be a police officer and told him that all the dogs in town were infected with rabies and that he should go home, lock all doors and windows and wait for the all clear. Dale sat alone in his house with a baseball bat for _four hours_ before his parents came home. Jesse and Lee spent the entire time wandering around his house growling and snarling and scratching at the door. How was that not drastic?"

"You were thirteen years old and he had no right to ask you out at such a young age. Besides, you didn't even like him."

I groaned. "That's not the point. Just promise me. I really don't want my crazy family to scare Alice off before I even get a chance with her."

Clare sighed, looking hard done by, as though not harassing Alice was tiring her. "Oh, alright. But you have to formally introduce her to us as soon as she arrives. I want to meet her and see what she's like."

"Me too, and I know that Jesse is going to give her the once over to make sure that she's right for you," Lee piped up cheerily from beside me, no doubt happily recalling memories of the 'Dale Incident', as we referred to it now.

Clare put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Bella. We won't do anything that would jeopardize your budding relationship with this girl. We're just doing what any family would do."

I took another bite of the pancakes, hoping to God that Alice would survive the night.

**XXXXX**

APOV

"Rosalie! I need help!" I yelled, my nervousness coming to the fore and causing my voice to become more high-pitched than usual. My room was in a terrible state of disrepair, clothes strewn all over the place, on the previously unnecessary but now highly interesting double bed, all across the floor, on top of the various dressers and surfaces. The door to my enormous walk-in closet was thrown open, clothes trailing out of it like blood at a crime scene, leading to me, pacing in front of the bookshelf that had not escaped the flurry of flying fabrics.

"Oh, for God's sakes Alice, it's only three o' clock. She's still in school and you have plenty of time. Will you _relax._" Rosalie's voice was irritated, but I could hear the undercurrent of amusement. The entire family was thoroughly enjoying the fact that the most confident member of our little group was acting like a blushing teenager. Not that I could help it.

She blurred up the stairs and stopped when she saw the state of my room, eyes widening. "Jeez, Alice, it looks like a tornado came through here."

I clutched a dark green top to my chest and looked around helplessly. "Nothing is right for tonight. It's either too dull, too eccentric or too flashy and if I wear something like that, Bella will think I'm trying too hard."

Rosalie raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me. "You _are _trying too hard."

"But _she's _not supposed to know that!" I hissed, throwing the green top down to pick up a navy blue top, holding it to my chest and glancing in the mirror before flinging it away to land somewhere in the vicinity of the TV. "She also said that I should wear pants, I don't exactly know why, but she specified on the pants and I can't find the perfect pants!"

Rosalie leaned against the door frame, watching me flail around in a panic. "So what do you want me to do about it?"

I stopped the aforementioned flailing, turning to face her. "I need you to help me choose an outfit."

Both eyebrows rose this time. "Since when have you needed help dressing youself?"

"Since I realized that nothing in my wardrobe is right. I already told you this. Keep up."

She pursed her lips, looking at me thoughtfully. "Fine. Come on." Walking into the room, she grabbed my arm and dragged me downstairs. We passed Edward and Jasper sitting on the couch, each giving us identical, confused looks.

"What are you doing?" I asked, having to trot slightly to keep up with her longer legs.

"I'm helping," she stated simply, pulling me into the garage and stopping next to her red BMW. She let go of my arm and walked around to the driver's side, glancing at me over the roof. "Get in."

My eyebrows drew down in confusion, but I complied, opening the door and slipping into the dark leather seats that were always kept in immaculate condition. No matter how long she has them, Rosalie's cars always smell new, something that I was always pleased with.

She slid in beside me, closing the door gently, as though it were made of glass. The key was in the ignition and the car was coming to life before she had even closed the door. The button beside the rearview mirror that allowed us to open the garage door was pressed and we were pulling out onto our driveway.

"Ok, Rosalie, seriously, where are we going?" Her silence was bugging me and I was half afraid that she was going to do something rash, like drive to an abandoned lot and throw me out so that I'd stop pacing and interrupting her 'quiet time' with Emmet.

She glanced at me and grinned. "Shopping."

We spent a solid two hours in the mall, pouring through all the different stores trying to find the perfect outfit. It was at times like these that I really saw how caring my older sister could be. She liked shopping, but when the focus was on someone else and she wasn't getting anything, it lost its appeal for her. The fact that she ignored her own needs, including a 50%-off sale at her favourite store, and focused solely on me was slightly endearing. In the end, after many, many different stores, we settled on black jeans, a white blouse, black jacket and a yellow scarf. It was simple, which Bella would like, but it was also a great outfit and looked great on me, something that Rosalie told me time and time again.

Upon returning home at five o' clock, I realized that I only had two hours before I had to pick up Bella, which would involve meeting her parents. That was a big part of why I was so nervous. I had seen the scene played out hundreds of times on TV and plays, but I had never realized what a terrifying experience it would be. I was half tempted to call her and tell her to meet me in a non-descript part of a shady forest somewhere, wearing a trench coat and dark glasses. Sure, it was an overreaction, but it would make me feel better. Then again, I was the one who wanted to pick her up at her house, partly because I loved driving my car and was insanely proud of it, but also because it felt _right _to me somehow. This entire business, despite the fact that it involved a vampire and whatever Bella was, seemed so normal, someone going to pick up their date and meet her parents for the first time. If her father told me to have her back by eleven, it would have slipped from weird to completely surreal.

I chose to ignore the fact that normal was something that I viewed as weird, and went downstairs to calm my nerves, which was accomplished by fervently hacking virtual zombies to pieces with Emmett while trying to ignore his constant, and now ever-present, lesbian jokes.

After twenty-three successive wins, it was six o'clock, time to start getting ready.

Being a vampire, my regime only took about twenty minutes. I hopped in the shower, dried my hair, put on my clothes and once again went downstairs to wait until it was time to leave.

I was so engrossed in staring at the window sill that I didn't notice Edward walking up behind me until he spoke. "Alice, could I talk to you for a minute?"

I frowned when I realized that he seemed nervous about something, but nodded anyway. "Sure, what about?"

He sat down on the couch beside me, staring at me hard. "Are you…feeling alright?"

My brows drew down in confusion. "Well, I'm nervous right now, but I feel fine. "Why?"

He shifted on his seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Well, I didn't want to say anything in case it was nothing, but over the last few days, I've been finding it harder to 'read' you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's not all the time, just occasionally, but sometimes your thoughts are kind of…fuzzy and sometimes they blank out completely for a few seconds."

"Has this ever happened to you before?" I asked.

"Not exactly like this, but all of us have been having trouble with our abilities since the Van Allens showed up." He gave me a look. "Also, this started happening about the same time that you started getting your visions back."

"So it's more than likely that they are responsible somehow."

"Yeah, and I was just wondering if maybe you'd ask her about it at some point today?"

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "What is it with this family that makes them all ask me to use my dates with Bella to ferret out information from her?"

He looked sheepish and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "Ah, that's not what I was asking, I was just wondering if you'd-"

"Use my date with Bella to ferret out information from her?" I cut him off.

He seemed at a loss on how to continue. "Well…yes."

I stood up and walked to the other window in the room. "Sorry Edward, but not having you snooping around in my head for once is kind of refreshing. I have a feeling that it will all be resolved tonight anyway."

He looked at me in surprise. "You had a vision?"

"No, it's more a…feeling." I glanced at my watch, something that I'd been doing on and off for the past three hours and realized that it was time to leave. I flitted to the door and was about to grab hold of the doorknob, when someone coughed behind me.

I turned around to find the rest of my family arranged before the staircase. Damn, I was unobservant today.

Carlisle and Esme were standing shoulder to shoulder, huge grins on their faces. Even Rosalie had a tiny little curve of her lip.

"What?" I asked, hand still on the doorknob.

Esme shuffled and I saw the gleam of tears in her eyes, which she quickly dispelled. "Now all of my children have someone." She said by way of explanation, wrapping an arm around Carlisle.

Emmett stepped forward, blinking rapidly and dramatically waving a hand at his eyes, like an overwhelmed prom queen about to give her speech. "Our little Alice is finally growing up."

Carlisle smiled. "I wonder Alice, when do we get to meet this girl?"

I thought about that for a moment. My siblings had seen Bella at school, but had never really talked to her, except for that one time with Edward in the Biology lab. Other than that, their interactions with her had been solely observing myself and her in conversation. Esme and Carlisle had never even met her, nor her family members. Usually whenever we came across new vampires we introduced ourselves, provided they weren't bat-shit crazy, but with the mystery of what Bella was and their unresponsiveness, it seemed to have been put on hold. I assumed that now that Bella and I were in a relationship, introductions would soon follow.

"I guess sooner rather than later. I'll see if I can persuade her to meet you guys at some point in the near future." I smiled at the thought of bringing Bella home to meet my family and hoped to God that Emmett went easy on the practical jokes.

Smiling again, I waved at my family and opened the door, glancing at them once more before I shut it. The smile I saw on Esme's face could have powered New York City for a month.

"Have fun," she called as I was walking to the door of my car, which I had left outside the front door for easy access.

The drive to Bella's house wasn't a long one, but it was far enough away to ensure that we didn't run into the Van Allen's while they were hunting, as no incidents had occurred.

Her directions were clear and accurate and I had no problem finding their house. The long driveway closed in by trees was reminiscent of our own, and the secluded location was a must for a family of four vampires and one unknown. Breaching the tree line, I came to a clearing that was pressed up against a high cliff face, dark green trees casting shadows over the house at its centre.

The Van Allen home was gorgeous, easily as impressive as our own. It was three stories tall, the outside composed of a dark stone, with dark wooden fixtures around the high-arced windows, which were very large and numerous. I was facing the house, so I couldn't see the back, but I caught a glimpse of what must have been a huge balcony as I walked towards the house from an angle. Steps lead up to intricately carved wooden double doors and a two-meter-wide wrap-around porch. The whole house was dark, but it wasn't foreboding, it was simply beautiful, everything fitting perfectly together like a work of art.

However, what really caught my eye were the two stone lions that were on the ground on either side of the double doors. They were huge, made from a marble as black as pitch and standing at least six feet high. I couldn't help the gasp that came from my slack jaw when I saw them, for in all my years on this earth, I had never seen a piece of stone look so lifelike. The level of detail was astounding, each feature expertly wrought, down to the last hair. Their jaws were slightly open, showing the fearsome teeth, the huge claws exposed and digging into the earth. They looked pretty damn scary.

When I managed to tear my eyes away, I noticed evidence of further statues, if one could even call them that. Two ravens were perched on top of the chimney and only my vampire sight allowed me to tell that they weren't real. An owl sat on the railing surrounding one of the smaller windows and a wolf was crouched in the trees to my left, almost hidden by the growth. My steps faltered slightly as I saw all of these, my eyes eagerly drinking in their beauty before thoughts of Bella managed to pull me towards the door.

That, of course, was when my nerves kicked into overdrive. Ok, no need to panic, it's just Bella's family…who I've never met personally before. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door, waiting patiently until it opened. I knew that they had heard me when I was still on the drive over, but habits are hard to shake.

The woman on the other side was beautiful, not that I was expecting anything less from a vampire, but her beauty was that of a timeless classic, with short, soft blond hair, unreadable golden eyes and delicate facial features. She was almost as tall as Rosalie and carried herself with an air of confidence and at the same time, gentleness. She seemed like the kind of person who would risk her life for a loved one, yet still happily tear your head off if you crossed her. Intimidating was an understatement.

I held my hand out, trying my hardest to not let my nerves get the better of me. "Hello, you must be Mrs. Van Allen. I'm Alice Cullen; it's a pleasure to meet you."

She stared at me for a split second and I almost gulped in nervousness, when her lips curved in an amused smile and she took my small hand in her slightly larger one. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you too Alice. Please, call me Clare." She released my hand with a satisfied smile and stepped to the side, gesturing for me to enter the house.

The foyer was big, with wooden floors and painted a nice blue colour that reminded me of a clear sky. There was a set of stairs that led to the second floor to the left of the door, the carved wooden posts depicting two eagles, wings outstretched.

"Come on into the living room, the rest of the family are eager to meet you," Clare told me, placing a hand on my shoulder to steer me where I needed to go to 'meet the family'.

Trying not to let my nerves show, I went where she directed me until I came into a very cozy room, complete with white leather furniture, deep wooden floors and a white marble fireplace. Jesse and Lee, Bella's siblings, were perched on a white leather love seat, curled up together lazily. Both of them looked at me curiously as I entered, not bothering to disguise their interest. They gave me a slight wave and a smile.

Another man entered the room from a door that seemed to lead out to the garage, if the glance at the family's Toyota was anything to go by. He was tall and very well built, with short, dark brown hair and inquisitive eyes, his face adorned by a permanent five o' clock shadow. The black wife-beater and dark green combat pants he wore were covered in a fine white powder, which also made his hair seem whitish-grey and made his skin tone like that of a statue. From the scent, I'd guess it was stone dust and I remembered Bella telling me her father's passion was stone carving, meaning that he was responsible for the statues outside.

This must have been Micheal. Just like his wife, he stared at me for a few moments before he smiled, walking towards me. "Hello there Alice, I'm Micheal. It's nice to finally meet you in person." He extended his hand, only to glance at it and realize that it was covered in dust. "Oh, well, never mind that then."

Clare chuckled and handed him a wet cloth to clean up. Turning to face me, she gestured to Jesse and Lee, who were still sitting on the love seat. "I take it you've already met those two."

I nodded, waiting until she gestured towards on the couch before taking a seat. She and Micheal sat down opposite me on a two-seater armchair, glancing at me curiously. I looked around the room, trying to calm my nerves down, noting that Bella wasn't down yet as I could hear her up in what must be her room, shuffling around with her insanely light footfalls.

Jesse leaned forward and placed her chin on her hand. "So, Alice, tell us a little about yourself while we wait for Bella."

I shrugged my shoulders. "What do you want to know?"

"Any deep-rooted desires for world domination? Any homicidal tendencies? Any specific aversion to cats?"

My brows furrowed in slight confusion. What kind of questions were those? I was expecting 'where were you born?' or 'how long have you been a vegetarian?'

"Not that I know of, on all counts."

Lee, who up until now had been silent, chuckled slightly. "Any fear of heights?"

Before I could wonder at the looks of amusement on their faces, I heard a soft pitter-patter coming down the stairs. At first, the silence of the steps lead me to believe that it was Bella, so my head whipped around towards it, only to be met by a large grey, white and black tomcat. It sat at the bottom of the stairs for a moment before padding over towards me.

I was at a loss.

Cats _hated _vampires and this one was not only sitting in a house full of them, but was walking over towards one. The scent alone should have been enough to drive it away with fear, yet it seemed merely curious.

As soon as it reached the couch, it hopped up and promptly plonked itself down on my lap, batting me lazily with its paw. When I didn't respond to its prodding's, still staring in shock, it opened its mouth and let out a low, drawn out meow that lasted at least six whole seconds.

"I'd pet him if I were you, otherwise he won't stop," a soft voice said from my left. I jerked in surprise, nearly dislodging the cat, which looked at me in annoyance. Turning my head, I saw Bella standing there with her arms crossed. In an instant, all of my nerves vanished, the calm feeling that I felt when Bella was near soothing my frazzled emotions, almost like Jasper would, but at the same time, not. Despite the fact that her family was sitting only a few paces away, I couldn't stop my eyes from giving her the once-over.

She wore a pair of dark jeans, a black shirt and a dark brown leather jacket, the dark color highlighting her pale skin and making the ever-present ring on her finger shine brilliantly. Her dark hair fell in gentle waves down her back, framing her face to perfection. She carried what appeared to be a leather wrapped tube in one hand, with a strap that was obviously used to wrap around a persons torso.

I suddenly became aware that I was staring when Bella smiled amusedly, which only grew when the cat sat up and began nuzzling my face with what could only be described as intense determination. I tried to move my head to the side but he just followed, placing both paws on my chest for better leverage. Quickly following Bella's advice, I tentatively raised a hand and patted him gently on the head. As soon as my hand made contact, a deep rumbling purr that sounded like someone was sawing logs issued from the cat and he flopped down with a look of ecstasy on his little face.

I looked back to Bella, my questions evident.

She took a step forward, transferring the tube to the other hand. "That's Sanderson. He's the family pet," she said by way of explanation.

"But how? Cats hate vampires," I said, my voice no doubt carrying the happiness and confusion that I felt. I had always loved cats, but their aversion to vampires had made getting one slightly harder than normal.

Jesse chuckled, leaning forward. "Sandy did hate vampires, but he loved Bella, so she sort of eased him into living with us a couple of years ago." She shot him a look that was part affection and part annoyance. "Now the damn thing won't leave us alone."

"Oh shut up, you love him," Bella huffed indignantly.

Jesse rolled her eyes but didn't dispute her statement.

"He really likes you. That's a good sign; he's a great judge of character." Clare's voice was just as amused as Bella looked and I knew that if I could blush I would be.

The huge cat still sitting on my lap began to roll about, trying to angle himself so I would rub his stomach. The only problem was that he was big and my lap was small. He fell off and landed on the floor with a thud, barely managing to get his feet under himself. The look of sheer bewilderment on his face when he righted himself caused me to burst out laughing and I was thankful that I heard the others joining in.

He looked at me once, as though wondering whether or not he should try again and instead he went over to the fire place and stretched out in front of it.

I glanced around to see that Bella was watching me, a small smile on her face. Our eyes connected and for a split second, I could have sworn that hers became lighter, almost luminescent. As quickly as I'd seen it, it was gone and I began to wonder if I'd seen it at all.

Someone cleared their throat and the connection was broken, my gaze turning to Micheal who had a serious look on his face. "Alice, you and Bella have to leave soon to be in time for your date and whatnot, but before you go I have a very important question to ask you."

I nodded my head, waiting for him to ask whatever he needed.

"If you are going to be with my daughter, I need to know one thing." He folded his hands and leaned forward, his expression becoming grave. "How do you feel about leather?"

For a moment, I though that I'd misheard him, until Bella's horrified 'Dad!' cut through the silence. She looked equal parts mortified and murderous, her face blushing furiously.

Her father's head tipped back and he laughed amusedly. His shoulders shook and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I just needed to see her reaction. It was fine, by the way, very shocked."

Clare smiled kindly at me. "I apologize for my husband's behavior; he has a twisted sense of humor."

Both of Bella's siblings were smiling widely, glancing between their pseudo-father and my own, no doubt bewildered face.

"You know, we should really be getting a move on, I'm sure you'll all have plenty of chances to talk some other time," Bella stated quickly, ushering me towards the front door, blush still firmly in place.

"Have fun you two," Clare called, waving happily while patting her mate soothingly on the back.

We had just shut the door and were turning around towards the car when Jesse's "Alice, don't forget that Bella isn't legal yet!" rang out from behind us.

"Oh, God," Bella groaned, quickening her pace. We made it to the car, Bella taking the time from her embarrassment to glance at it appreciatively, and then we were driving up the long road that the Van Allens used as a driveway.

The cloud cover and the nearness of winter made the sky dark, wreathing the car in shadows. The purring of the engine was the only sound for a few minutes until Bella spoke.

"Sorry about them, they have a terrible habit of harassing anyone who tries to date me."

Despite the fact that I was now on the receiving end of that harassment, I was glad that they had kept away any other suitors. "Well they're not going to scare me away, trust me." I smiled at her, which she returned, eyes flickering around the interior of the car.

"Oh, I know that. They went easy on you because they like you," she told me, her hand running down the leather of the seat.

I turned to face her, eyes narrowed in skepticism. "You think that they like me?"

She grinned. "Of course they do, they were all very civil. Plus, they trust you." She went back to her silent examination of the car.

"But how can they like, or trust me. They only just met me, for like, two minutes and most of that was taken up by the cat."

She regarded me quietly for a moment. "Well, you know how Clare said that Sanderson was a great judge of character-"

"Hold on," I cut her off with a raised hand. "Your family based their judgment of me on the opinion of a _cat_?"

She laughed. "No, but if you'd let me finish, that would have made more sense." Her eyes twinkled with amusement, her fingers tapping out a tune on her jean clad knee. "What I was going to say, was that it isn't Sanderson who's a great judge of character. It's Clare." She glanced out the window, eyes locking onto trees as they passed by. "She was always good at that, as a human. She was a librarian, so when she didn't have her nose in a book, she spent a lot of time people-watching. As a result, she gained an ability when she became a vampire." She looked back at me, smiling once again. "They like you and trust you, because had you been a bad person, or meant me even a modicum of harm, Clare would have known about it the moment she touched your hand and you wouldn't have made it past the threshold."

I stared at her, eyebrows raised. "That sounds slightly ominous. So her ability is to be able to see if a person is trustworthy or not?"

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the jist of it."

We fell into a comfortable silence for about ten minutes, when suddenly Bella laughed quietly. I turned to look at her, only to see her watching me, another amused smile on her face. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"It's just the idea of going on a date with you seems very strange to me for some reason," she chuckled.

"And why is that?"

She bit her lip and I had the instant desire to kiss her, which I fervently repressed. "Well, I never really thought that I'd end up dating anybody, to be perfectly honest. It just wasn't something that I'd envisioned happening."

"How could you have not seen this coming? I mean, you're a beautiful, kind, intelligent individual, surely people have asked you." That thought pissed me off to no end, but she didn't need to know that part.

She rolled her eyes, a strand of dark hair falling to cover one side of her face. "Oh, people have asked, lots of people, but I've never actually been interested in anyone before."

"_No-one? _You've never had a crush before?" She shook her head. "Really?"

"No, I was actually beginning to think that something was wrong with me-well, besides the obvious-, and then you came along. It surprised the hell out of me at first, to say the least."

"Well, don't I feel special. To what do I owe the honor?"

Bella smiled, a slow, curving smile that would have made me gulp had I not had such great self-control. She glanced at the road for a split second before leaning over to place her lips gently against mine.

Her lips were as soft as I remembered and even warmer and before I could reciprocate, she was gone.

Smiling happily, she faced road once more. "Now that would be telling. Turn left up here."

The rapid change in subject threw me for a second, before I spotted the turn-off and I shifted the car. It went in between the trees, the kind of road that led to wilderness parks and I once again wondered what we were doing.

Deciding to voice my question, I spoke up. "You know, you still haven't told me what we're doing."

"Patience is a virtue."

"Well, it's not one that I have much experience with."

She laughed. "I can tell. It's just up here on the right." The tapping on her knee resumed and for the first time, I realized that she was just as, if not more, nervous than I was. It not only made me feel better about acting like a teenager, but it was kind of endearing.

We pulled into a large clearing, an expanse of clear ground resting beside a lake that had a thin sheet of ice covering the dark waters. The moon wasn't full, but a small sliver of light had managed to breach the cloud-cover and illuminate some of the scene, the rest bathed in silent shadows.

What really drew my attention was the large white sheet that was strung up between two trees, a small, brown couch lying in front of it. Behind the couch, facing the sheet was an old fashioned projector, resting in the bed of a pick-up truck.

I blinked slowly, taking it all in. The sheet was strategically placed so that it was covered in darkness, which was easier for the projector to work with. I started slightly when Bella opened my door, not even having noticed her getting out of the car.

"So, are you just going to stare, or do you intend to leave the car any time soon?" Her voice was amused, but I could hear the tension underneath. Her nervousness was showing through.

She extended her hand, which I took and she pulled me out, shutting the door after me.

"What is all this?" I asked, eyes still on the projector.

She blushed, eyes straying down towards her feet. "Well, you told me you loved old movies, especially Laurel and Hardy, so I figured we could have our own private showing."

She bit her lip again, and this time I gave in to the instinct to kiss her, holding her gently by the shoulders. I looked her in the eyes, genuinely touched that she went to so much trouble for me. "Bella, I love it." She smiled back at me, the tension leaving her shoulders slightly.

I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face and I quickly grabbed her hand, pulling her along to the projector.

There was a rack of old films, mainly Laurel and Hardy. They were the first films I ever remembered watching, and I had always loved them to no end. There were a lot of them, but the one on top caused the breath to leave my body. I stared at it for at least ten seconds, reading the name over and over again.

"What is it?" Bella asked, curious about my sudden silence.

"Is that 'Hats Off'?" My voice was quivering with barely suppressed excitement.

Understanding shone in Bella's eyes. "Yes. I thought you might like that."

My fingers brushed it with the kind of reverence usually saved for religious artifacts. "But how? It's supposed to be lost. I mean, it hasn't been seen since the 1930's."

"My Dad's a huge fan of Laurel and Hardy too, but don't ask him how he got his hands on the entire collection, even I don't know."

I looked up at her, my eyes only reaching her chin. "The _entire_ collection? You mean he has the other lost films too?" I was on the verge of squealing and jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes, now sit down before you start doing cartwheels." She gently shoved me towards the couch then returned to the projector, hands moving expertly across it.

As soon as I sat down, Bella sat down beside me, the quite flutter of the projector the only sound as we watched the screen.

The movie was silent, but I had never minded that, it just added to the feelings of nostalgia I got whenever I watched movies like these. I was a die-hard fan of Laurel and Hardy, and I had seen every one of them, except this one. Trying to tack it down was pointless, it was reportedly lost. However, now I knew that there was at least one copy out there and it was in the hands of a vampire family. It was no doubt worth a fortune.

Bella proved herself to be a fan too, and soon we were in stitches, practically falling over each other as we watched. Each movie was around twenty minutes long, so we ended up watching about ten of them, interspersed with some old time Looney Toons. At some point during the third one, we somehow ended up cuddling on the couch, Bella producing a blanket from somewhere. The night was cold and while it wouldn't have affected me anyway, Bella's body warmth chased away any chill that I would have felt.

I knew that she glanced at me periodically throughout the movies, and I confess to the same thing, but seeing her sitting beside me, lips spread in a grin, eyes glittering as she laughed, it was addictive.

The ending credits of the last film rolled onto the screen and I once again found myself looking at the girl beside me. Her eyes met mine, and by unspoken consent, we leaned in for a kiss.

She was even warmer than usual, her lips like liquid fire. That warmth seemed to flow into me, removing the chill that I had felt inside me ever since becoming a vampire all those years ago.

I broke the kiss and drank in her gaze, once again noticing that her eyes seemed a tiny bit lighter. "Thank you so much, that was amazing."

She blushed, and I could tell that the nerves were back. "Well, it's not finished yet."

Before I could question her, she stood up quickly and extended her hand. "Come on, let's take a walk."

Pushing aside my questions, I took it and we pulled the cover over the projector and walked into the woods.

The spot she had chosen was secluded, not even a wisp of scent to indicate humans had been here in a long time. The trees accepted us into their dark embrace, shielding us from the moons light. Suddenly understanding Bella's request for pants and good shoes, I followed her into the dark woods, her hand still wrapped around mine.

The set of her shoulders was tense, tenser than I had ever seen her and I was suddenly worried. Her hair blocked her face from my view, so I couldn't see her expression, but I knew that it wouldn't bee good. "Bella, what's wrong?"

She turned to me, giving me a weak smile. "Nothing, I just want to…show you something."

We fell back into silence and walked for about twenty minutes. I knew that we could have run at a blinding pace to our destination, but despite Bella's tension, it was kind of peaceful.

The tinkling of water reached my ears long before we stepped into a gorgeous clearing. Despite the chill, wildflowers were still in bloom, seeming almost unnatural in their perfection. It was at the bottom of a cliff, trees climbing up the rock, opposing the direction of the crystal clear water that cascaded down from above. The moon shone full force, no covering of trees to thwart the light.

"It's beautiful," I gasped, wondering how in the hell I had never seen this place before. I mean, Forks had a few waterfalls, but none this beautiful.

Bella's smile was tense. "Yeah, there's a much better place to go, but it's…hard to get to. But I thought that this was a good place to do this." She shuffled her feet, wringing her hands before her. "Listen, Alice, I brought you out here because I have something to tell you."

For a single, absurd moment, I though she was going to end our budding relationship, that's how grave her voice was, so when she said what she said next, I was shocked. "I-I want to tell you…about me. What I am."

Suddenly her nervousness made complete sense. I walked towards her and placed my hand on her cheek. "Bella, if telling me makes you uncomfortable, then you don't have to just yet, we can wait." It almost killed me to say it, because I was dying to know, but I wanted her to tell me because she wanted to, not because she felt pressured.

She took my hand from her cheek and kissed it gently. "I _want _to tell you, I do. I'm only nervous because I've never actually told anyone before. I mean, one or two people have found out and my family raised me, so technically they knew before I did, but I've never said it to someone."

"What made you decide to do it now?"

"Well, I told you in the car that I've never had romantic feelings for someone before, not matter how nice or attractive they were, so I figure that there's something special about you, it just feels right." She exhaled heavily. "Besides, I want to have a relationship with you, not just a friendship, so it's your right to know."

I'm sure if it could, my heart would be beating a mile a minute. I had waited for a long time to find Bella, and then I had to wait some more. Now she was going to be open with me, honest. "I'll be honest, Bella, I've though about this a lot. Trying to figure it out by myself didn't help, because I got everything from elf to jinn."

Bella choked out a laugh. "You thought I was an _elf_? Do my ears look pointy to you? I also don't come with a golden lamp, as cool as that would be, so no three wishes for you."

"Hey, I was taking wild guesses here and for all I know, you could be hiding a tail."

She laughed again, the sound bringing a smile to my face. I didn't miss the fact that her laughter had a slight edge to it, but it was still beautiful.

Sighing, she looked down, twisting the silver ring on her finger. "Well, I guess I'll get started." She turned her back on me, taking several steps away from me and pacing for a few moments before she spoke. "You know how I told you that I was adopted into my family when I was about one month old?" I nodded and she continued. "Well, they sort of found me in the forest, after I had…fallen from the sky." She said the last part in a rush, once again twisting her ring on her finger.

I looked at her for a few moments, then at the sky, as though I were expecting the answers to fall on me like rain. "Huh?" Eloquence aside, that was all I could manage.

Bella made a sound that managed to sound both exasperated, amused and nervous at the same time. Raising both hands as though I were a jumper on the edge of a sky-scraper, she took a step backwards. "Ok, ok. I think that it'll be easier if I just show you."

She let out a shuddering breath, standing in full view in the moonlight, took hold of her ring in one hand and looked me square in the eyes.

"Here goes nothing," she said.

Then she pulled off the ring.

**A/N: DON'T KILL ME! (Hides behind conveniently placed rock)**

**I know you guys must hate me for ending it there, especially after leaving it so damn long to update, but I just had to. The date is obviously not over, and there is much to come, but I ask your patience, if I rush writing it, then the chapters will suck, so I can't do that, but I will make sure that you don't have to wait another two months for the next update.**

**Please review and tell me what you think of it, if you want to guess what happens next, or throw out some ideas of what you would like to happen next, or even to (sigh) criticize me for sucking (please be constructive), then go right ahead.**

**R&R.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Well, I didn't expect to have this up so soon, but whatever. Hope you enjoy it, the big reveal. To be honest, I didn't even intend to make what Bella was a mystery, it just happened.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

APOV

"Alice? Alice, please answer me."

I could hear Bella's voice, could hear the fear and uncertainty lacing each syllable, but I found myself unable to respond, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a full sentence. My eyes were no doubt wide, my mouth agape and I knew that in any other situation, Bella would laugh at my expression. But there was no laughter in her eyes now, eyes that were so familiar and yet, so different.

I had seen many things in my long life, some horrible, some wonderful. I had seen death, disaster and sorrow, but I had also seen birth, renewal and joy. I had seen things before any of it happened, sometimes months in advance, sometimes seconds, and as a result, I was seldom surprised by current events. It was only in the last few months that I had come to know true anticipation, true uncertainty, true surprise and I knew that it was all thanks to a girl named Isabella Van Allen.

It was also thanks to that same girl that I was standing in a moonlit clearing, unable to speak.

The expertly wrought silver ring that I had never seen Bella without, the one depicting vines and leaves holding a dark blue stone, which looked so realistic that it was almost eerie, was the key to it all. The moment that it had left her finger, a distortion of the air, almost a glow, had swept over her, and when it dissipated, I was left looking at the most exquisitely beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on.

The person that stood before me was Bella, and at the same time, wasn't. She had always been beautiful, almost vampire beautiful, but now she surpassed my kind completely, so much so that I could hardly fathom how that little band of silver could have hidden it.

Her features were more delicate and refined, astounding in their perfection. Her skin was flawless, almost paler than a vampire, but also luminescent, as though it were lit from within. Hair that was once chestnut brown fell in snow white waves down her back, glittering like diamonds in the moonlight and looking so soft and silky that it was almost unreal. The effect of the pale skin, white hair and black clothing was startling, combining to give her the appearance of a specter, as well as drew the gaze to her lips, which were the colour of fresh roses. Her slightly tilted, exotic looking eyes, surrounded by thick white lashes, were the colour of molten silver, her pupils reflecting the light like a cat's.

When she took a hesitant step forward, I noticed that her body had changed as well. She had always looked fit and athletic, but now she put marble statues carved by Michelangelo to shame. Moving with an unearthly grace that her former self had only hinted at, she took another tiny step forward, until she was about five feet away. The ring must have also muted her scent, because now it was absolutely indescribable, wafting around me like perfume.

"Alice? Please say something," she pleaded, her new voice making the finest piece of music sound like a five-year old with a saucepan and a wooden spoon.

It was only when a pair of perfect white teeth bit into that lower lip, such a Bella thing to do, that I found my voice. "Bella? What..?" I gestured at her, trying to get my question across.

Her silver eyes looked down at her shoes, elegant fingers once again twisting the ring around and around, as though she were debating whether or not to put it back on.

Clearing her throat nervously, she made a vague sweeping motion towards herself. "Well, um, this is what I really look like." She held up the ring. "This ring casts a sort of glamour, an illusion that allows me to look…well, to look human."

I could see the necessity. Vampires naturally drew attention to themselves, but we could play it off as being very attractive humans. Bella, on the other hand, could never pass for human without that ring, not when she made Rosalie look plain in comparison.

"You're beautiful," I whispered, any thoughts of embarrassing myself gone completely out the window.

A blush coloured Bella's cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck, obviously embarrassed by my statement. How anyone could look like that and still be humble was beyond me. "Um, thanks, I guess."

I tried to think of a more polite way of asking it, I really did, but all that I could come up with was, "What are you?" Automatically, my hands came up to cover my mouth. "Oh, God, that was rude. I'm sorry I-"

"Alice, it's okay," Bella cut me off, almost amused by my ramblings, but still too nervous to really show it. "I'm afraid that I have one more surprise for you and it should be pretty obvious then."

She sighed, seemingly resigned to the fact that I was about to find out everything. "It's not exactly a tail, but…" Bella shrugged off her jacket, letting it fall from her fingers to land on the forest floor.

Her silver eyes were locked onto my own gold ones, waiting to see my reaction to whatever came next. I was so focused on her expression that I almost didn't notice the blue light floating around Bella's back.

For the second time that night, my jaw dropped as I stared at them. They were stunning, like a whole pile of fairy lights but without the glass or wiring. They lit up the trees behind Bella for a few moments before joining together to form a shape. No, two shapes, each the same size as the other. They looked almost like…

It was at this point that I actually felt my knees go weak, something that had never happened to me for as long as I could remember. From that mass of blue lights, two great, snow-white wings appeared, fanning out from Bella's back and curving slightly, like an eagle about to launch itself from its perch. When she had taken her ring off, she had been scared, now she looked terrified, her heart beating at a pace that was faster than a human, which meant that, for her, it was racing. Her breaths were coming much too quickly and her fists were clenching and unclenching.

"I know that it's a huge surprise, but I figured that you should know. I probably should have told you sooner, but I was afraid of how you'd react, hell, I'm still afraid of how you'll react, but, like I said, you deserved to know, so I told you but you still haven't said anything, probably because I won't shut up, but it's something that happens when I'm nervous and I'm really nervous right now and I'm going to stop speaking now please say something."

It all came out in a huge rush and in a single breath, yet the words were still beautifully spoken in that musical tone. And I still couldn't take my eyes off of those wings.

Of all of the things that I had imagined Bella to be, I had only considered this one jokingly, in response to her kind personality and human beauty. When she had saved that girl last week, I had thought of her as the girl's guardian angel, I just had no idea how right I would be.

"So I guess that you know by now," Bella said, still not meeting my eyes.

"You're an…angel," I said, unable to make my voice go above an awed whisper.

"Yes," she stated simply.

"This is…unexpected." Huge understatement.

A gust of wind blew through the clearing, whipping Bella's hair around her head. In a movement that seemed so natural to her, she tucked in her wings, pulling them in against her back to prevent them from catching the breeze.

"Are you…okay with this?" Bella asked, gesturing to herself again.

I suddenly realized how my silence would seem from her point of view, why she seemed to be getting more panicked by the second.

"Hey, I'm not going to freak out or anything, it's just a pretty big surprise is all," I said quickly, trying to reassure her. Taking a deep breath to try and dispel some of the shock I was still feeling, I walked towards Bella. "Come on, I need to try and walk some of this off."

I began to walk towards the surrounding woods, but paused momentarily to take Bella's hand in my own, not missing the relieved smile on her face. She scooped up her jacket on the way. Her skin was even softer than it looked and the warmth that Bella always exuded and been kicked into overdrive, almost burning in its intensity and at the same time, extremely pleasant.

Neither of us spoke for a while and the only reason that I didn't spend the entire time staring at her was because I didn't want her to be uncomfortable. Her scent was mouthwatering at this close distance, yet any trace of my thirst that I would have usually felt was gone. In fact, I didn't feel very much like a blood sucking vampire at all right now. I felt…peaceful.

The moonlight could only break through certain parts of the canopy, so long moonlit spaces were interspersed with shadowy patches. The only sounds were the nightlife of the forest, our light footfalls and Bella's gently thrumming heart.

"I know that you probably have a lot of questions now that you know and I agreed to tell you, so feel free to ask." Bella's melodious voice broke the silence, yet it seemed so at home here, in this moonlit forest, that it was almost like another forest sound itself.

I glanced beside me, watching the way Bella's hair fell in a wave to shield her face from me. Giving in to the impulse I was feeling, I brushed it back behind her ear, allowing the light to hit her face. She looked at me, raising an eyebrow and I couldn't help but smile. "At the risk of sounding sappy, you shouldn't hide such a beautiful face." The blush that I had come to love over the past few weeks came back full force, a gentle wave of pink on her cheeks, making me laugh. Her appearance may be different than what I'm used to, but my Bella was still in there. "Before you took off your ring, you said that your family found you after you had…fallen from the sky?" It sounded insane, but for some reason, I knew without a doubt that she was telling me the truth.

"That's what they tell me. Apparently, they had been out hunting when they saw what they thought was a comet. Jesse made them go check it out, and they found me in, um, the middle of a crater."

My eyes widened. "Wow. So are you sure you're not an alien?" I asked jokingly, trying to calm whatever nerves Bella was still dealing with.

"Unless baby blankets are capable of interstellar travel, then I'm fairly certain that I'm from earth." I raised an eyebrow questioningly and she elaborated. "All they found on me was that blanket and this ring." She held it out to me and I took it gently.

It was warm, not just from being in contact from Bella's skin, but it gave off its own heat. The detail was amazing, the only difference between it and real plants was the colour, a bright silver that none of the jewelry I had ever seen could compare to, the exact shade of Bella's eyes. The stone in the centre was a deep, pure blue, almost a sapphire, almost a lapis lazuli, yet neither. Even to my vampire sight, it had no cracks or faults and appeared smoother than a diamond. I couldn't understand how, but there were no tool marks on the ring, no sign of its production, almost as though real vines and leaves had wrapped around the stone and turned to silver exactly where they lay.

"What stone is this?" I asked as I passed the ring back, nervous that I would damage it.

"I have no idea, we can't match it up to anything."

"So, in other words, it's like nothing on this earth?" I quipped.

"Alice, I am not an alien." She huffed, but I could see the edge of a smile on her face.

"What about your abilities, can you tell me about them?"

Bella grinned. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

I laughed, glad that we were back to our usual, speech-capable selves. "Well, you know all about vampires, so I only have one ability, really. I can see the future. Well, usually I can, but I've been having some trouble lately."

Bella instantly looked sheepish. "Ah, that's my fault. I can negate psychic vampire abilities, but I do it subconsciously."

"You can extend it to others though, can't you? None of my family's abilities work on you or your family."

"Yeah, if I care about someone and trust them, my 'shield' extends to protect them and if they have a psychic ability, it can work on me." I'm sure that the grin that lit up my face must have scared her slightly with its intensity. "What are you smiling about?"

"My ability has started working on you again and Edward is starting to have difficulty reading my mind. Does that mean you care about me and trust me?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." She smiled back at me before having a thought. "Wait, Edward can read minds?"

"Yup. And his mate Jasper can feel and manipulate emotions."

"Wow, you must have zero privacy in your house. I'll have to try working on blocking someone's ability even if I like them. I really don't like the idea of someone snooping around in my head."

"Can't you already pick and choose who to block? I mean, it is your ability."

"I didn't exactly come with an instruction manual, Alice," Bella stated dryly, "I've had to figure out my abilities all on my own."

Stepping over a fallen log, I turned my face to her. "Do you mind telling me about your…capabilities?" There had been three more deaths in Seattle, definitely vampire killings, and if I knew that Bella was able to defend herself, I would be able to stop worrying so much.

"I guess." She took a deep breath and seemed to ponder something for a moment. "Well, I'm fast, faster than most vampires and as strong as an average vampire, maybe a little less, though nothing too noticeable. My senses are about the same, except sight, which is far better than yours. I have a love-love relationship with animals; they'll even go so far as to protect me in a fight." I raised an eyebrow at this, wondering how she felt about her families and my own, eating habits and waited for her to continue. "Um, as you saw with your brother, I can suppress a vampire's thirst through touch, but only if they want it to be stopped, it doesn't work on human drinkers."

"Wait, you said that you can only stop a vampire's thirst through touch?" She nodded. "But, when we were up on that roof last week and that girl was bleeding, my thirst vanished when you came near me, but we weren't touching, it was just your scent."

She frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

She shrugged. "That's never happened before, maybe it was just a fluke."

I didn't think so and I could tell that she didn't either, but I nodded anyways, eager to hear more about her. "So is that it, or can you do anything else?"

"Well, there are two more abilities which I consider my main ones. Here, watch." She raised the hand that wasn't holding mine and concentrated on it for a moment before a small blue flame sprang to life on her palm.

I started, staring at it. Where a normal flame was orange with a pale blue bottom, this was dark blue, with an almost silver bottom. It flickered and waved in the wind, but didn't go out. "That's amazing," I said in awe, an emotion that I was feeling a lot tonight. "With that kind of ability, you wouldn't have to worry about any vampire hurting you."

Bella sighed, looking put out. "To be honest Alice, I would have to worry a lot about a vampire attacking me. It may seem like a long list of abilities, but other than my physical skill, the fire is my only offensive weapon."

"It seems like a pretty good weapon to me," I said.

"Not when I don't have full control over it." She looked out into the surrounding forest as we walked, not even looking at the ground in front of her but never hitting anything. "Generating the heat isn't the problem, in fact, sometimes it's all too eager to get out, but directing it is difficult. It takes a lot of concentration, something that I can't focus on if someone is attacking me, which means that it's unreliable in a fight. That leaves my strength and speed.

"Now, I can use my speed to my advantage, adding velocity to my hits and I've been trained in fighting opponents stronger than I am, but I'm still only seventeen and most vampires out there are decades older than me and way more experienced. I also don't have the diamond hard skin of a vampire, close, but not close enough and while I heal at a rate that makes it almost unnecessary, in an up close and personal brawl with a vampire they could do some real damage."

I found myself frowning again, my worry coming back.

She saw my expression and smiled. "Now don't look so worried, Alice, I'm not completely defenseless. I could take on a vampire and win if it came down to it, maybe even two if I was careful. It's only if they had a strong physical ability that I couldn't block or were veterans in the vampire wars that I'd have to really try." She shrugged. "And besides, I'm getting stronger with age, by the time I'm decades older than I am now, I'll be a force to be reckoned with."

I laughed at her phrasing, more at ease now that I knew her limitations. I moved in closer to her side, smiling hugely as she put an arm around my shoulder, the heat she generated very pleasant on my own frozen skin. With that ring on, she seemed to run at a temperature of about 110°F, but now it was easily 120°F. Were she human, she would have been long dead by now.

We had been trekking uphill for about ten minutes by now, into territory I had never bothered to explore. Our silence only lasted for a few seconds when the scent of blood made its way to my nose, my non-existent thirst not bothering me. It wasn't human, but a rabbit and it seemed to be moving this way.

"You didn't ask what my last power was, but I guess I could show you now."

I turned to Bella questioningly, only then remembering that she had two main abilities. She extracted herself from around me and stopped walking, crouching down soundlessly and gesturing for me to do the same. "What are you doing?" I asked, but she gestured for me to be quiet.

The scent of rabbit was stronger now and I could hear the little pitter-patter of its tiny feet. It took about two minutes for the rabbit to reach us, its little ears the first thing I could see of it. Taking several steps out of the underbrush and towards Bella, the little black rabbit froze when it saw me, holding its leg above the ground. I could see a long gash just above its ankle, the scent of its blood thick in the air.

"Hey there sweetie, it's alright, she won't hurt you," Bella crooned in a soft, infinitely kind voice that actually almost made me tear up. She stretched out a hand and after one more cautious look at me; the rabbit limped over to her, nuzzling into her fingers. I watched in rapt attention as Bella picked the tiny thing up carefully.

"The rabbit followed us," I said, suddenly understanding Bella's reasons for stopping. It was hurt and couldn't keep up so she waited for it as soon as she realized.

"Yeah, they do that sometimes when they're injured," she told me, inspecting the rabbit's leg.

"They follow you? But why?"

Bella smiled, sitting down Indian style and placing the rabbit on her lap. It was so compliant, so trusting of her that it wasn't afraid of the vampire sitting next to it. "I told you I had a love-love relationship with animals. They follow me because they know that I can help them."

"How?"

"My final and by far my favourite ability." She held out the rabbit's leg, her motions gentle and placed her hand over the wound. A blue glow encompassed her hand and the animal's leg. It looked…heavenly, swirling around them like a blue aurora borealis. She held it there for a second, before removing it to show the rabbit's leg, fully healed.

"Oh my God," I gasped. There were hundreds of myths of angels and in many of them, they possessed a healing touch, but actually seeing it was something else entirely. Carlisle would be ecstatic when he found out. "You can heal?"

Bella nodded and the rabbit sat up fully, testing out its leg before putting its weight onto it. I expected it to run off now that it was healed, but instead, it curled up and nuzzled further into Bella's warmth, eliciting a laugh from her. I watched her interacting with the small creature, wondering how I had ever become lucky enough to land such a perfect person like her. She was like something out of a Disney movie, the ones where people spontaneously burst into song and animals wore clothes.

"Here, come say hi," she said as she scooted closer. The rabbit perked its head up and stared hard at me, still wary. Following Bella's motions, I hesitantly reached out my hand, fully expecting the creature to bolt. It watched me cautiously, but with careful reassurances from Bella, it remained still as my fingers met its silky fur. Other than that strange cat Sanderson, I had never petted an animal in my entire life, at least not that I could remember. It was surreal, to say the least.

I glanced up to see Bella watching me, smile on her face.

"What?"

Her smile grew wider. "Nothing. We should let this little guy get back home."

As she gently picked it up, I found myself irrationally worried that it would get hurt again. I had never been able to eat rabbits, or any small animals, but I had never exactly worried about one, either. "What if it gets attacked again?"

She stroked its head gently and set it down on its feet. "Don't worry, my scent will keep any predators away from it for a while until it dissipates, she'll be fine."

"It's a girl?" I asked, unduly fascinated by the rabbit. I just knew that it had let me pet it and I didn't want anything bad to happen to it.

"Yup. Along with her three boys and two girls." I looked from Bella to the rabbit and back again.

"She's pregnant? How on earth can you tell that?"

She chuckled, watching the rabbit retreat into the forest again. "Sorry Alice, trade secret." She started walking again, taking my hand in hers once more, which I gladly accepted.

I couldn't get the image of Bella with the rabbit out of my head. She had been so kind, so caring and in tune with the creatures pain. It had followed her for God knows how long for her help, and her ability to heal others with a simple touch was how she accomplished that. I hadn't noticed it the first time we entered the woods because I wasn't looking for it, but I now I realized that the sounds of forest animals, the bugs in the earth, the birds in the trees, the animals on the ground, were loud. Before, whenever I had entered this place, the creatures present had known that I was dangerous, a killer, something that they should fear and as a result, they hid, remained quiet when I passed by, hoping to be spared. Now, they chattered amongst themselves freely, having no need to fear the predator in their midst, all because of Bella. They didn't just tolerate her presence, they _welcomed it_ and I just knew that if they were awake, the birds would be singing their joy. _Amazing._

Our hike upward was interrupted by a cliff, dropping down a long way, the tree tops stretching out before us. Sighing, Bella flopped down on the very edge of the cliff, dangling her legs out underneath her. Her wings raised and stretched out behind her so that she wouldn't sit on them. They were truly magnificent and would probably be around fifteen feet fully extended, if not bigger.

I sat down beside her, watching the way the moonlight danced on the trees. "Why is it that every time we talk about something important, it's always at night when the moon is bright?" I queried, happy just to sit here beside her.

She shrugged, picking up my lazy mood. "I've always preferred the night, I feel more comfortable."

I smiled, thinking of how well Bella fit in with the moonlight. I looked over at her and jerked slightly, surprised.

She blinked at me. "What?"

"Your eyes, they're…"

"Oh, they're blue, right?" I nodded dumbly; thinking that blue was hardly descriptive enough. Like everything about Bella's true form, her eyes were beautiful in the extreme. They were a deep blue that somehow managed to be extremely bright, the same shade as the stone in her ring, but more intense, deeper shades moving in their depths, swirling like waves. They were even more gorgeous that her silver eyes. "This is actually their normal colour, but they turn silver when I'm experiencing strong emotions and I was pretty nervous today."

I laughed. "Just when I'm getting used to one thing, something else pops up to surprise me again."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I scared the crap out of my parents on more than one occasion growing up."

"How did your family take all of this? You know, a baby with wings falling from the sky?"

She shifted on the ground, getting more comfortable. "Well, they were surprised at first, obviously and they didn't know what to do with me. I mean, they were vampires and they didn't consider themselves fit guardians for a baby."

"So why did they choose to keep you?" I tucked one leg under me and let the other fall off of the edge, ignoring the long drop down. The grass was dry and cool, a faint breeze ruffling the leaves of the trees near us.

"Well, they figured that I wouldn't exactly fit in with humans, what with being different and all. Also, by that point they had become really attached and didn't want to give me up." She laughed, thinking back. "I swear it makes me feel like the stray dog they brought home sometimes."

"Do you ever wonder about your birth parents?" I asked quietly, hoping that it wasn't a sore subject with her.

She looked up at the moonlit sky, watching the stars through the break in the clouds. "Of course I wonder. I wonder who they are, what they're like, why they sent me away. My abilities didn't all come at once, but in phases and I had always wanted someone who could teach me about them, about what to expect next." She looked back down at me. "But I was never the type to brood over things that I couldn't change. I love my family and I have had a wonderful life so far, not without its difficulties, but still a great life."

"I would have loved to see you as a little baby."

Bella groaned. "Don't say that anywhere near Clare, she doesn't get many chances to take out the home videos and she'll jump at the opportunity."

I grinned, clapping my hands together once. "That's fantastic! Does she have baby photos too?"

She narrowed her eyes at me in mock threat. "I swear to God Alice, I will forcibly restrain you if you try it."

I cocked an eyebrow, thoroughly amused. "I thought that you said that you weren't as strong as a vampire?"

Before she could react I tackled her, pinning her hands above her head and holding her still with my legs. Her breath left her with a 'whoosh' and she let out a strangled sound. She struggled briefly, showing that her strength was close enough to a vampire, but she slowly stopped, her breathing deepening.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought," I mumbled, staring deeply into her eyes.

"I let it happen," she whispered back. This close her scent was so strong, so appealing that it almost clouded my mind. I could feel the vibrations of her heart beating, the deep thrumming sound soothing me.

I looked from her eyes, eyes that were silvering once again, down to her slightly parted lips, her sweet breath fanning across my neck. "Yeah right," I said quietly, lowering my lips to hers.

I knew that it would be different in this new form, I just had no idea how much. Her lips were scorching, softer than silk and she tasted like she smelled, her scent condensed and my God it was absolutely amazing. Her kiss took control and dissolved me into a glowing ball of sparkles and rippling tingles, heat washing through me in a cresting wave. I could feel the electric power in her body, the inferno that she held back and I couldn't get enough. It took a full minute for our position to finally brake through the haze of my mind and I almost moaned into her mouth.

I pulled away, gasping for unneeded air and rolled off of her, lying on my back beside her, our heavy breathing the only sound. Her fingers were skimming over my wrist, drawing lines of heat like tattoos.

"That was…nice," she panted, making me feel the intense need to blush. Her tone of voice told me that she thought that it was a lot more than just _nice._ I looked over at her and she smiled, which at such close range was a deadly weapon.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away," I mumbled.

"No need to apologize. I quite enjoyed it," she laughed.

I felt something soft brush against my arm and realized that I was almost lying on a wing. I bolted into a sitting position. "Oh God, sorry," I said quickly, wondering if it was similar to a human getting their toes stood on.

"Alice, relax," she chuckled, sitting up and pulling her wings into a more comfortable position. They looked so soft and smooth, almost glowing. I wondered what they'd look like fully extended, up in the air where…

"Holy crap!" I yelled, causing Bella to jump.

"What?" She was up in a crouch in an instant, looking around for any sign of danger. "What is it?"

"You can fly!"

She stared at me for a moment, obviously confused. "Well they're not exactly for decoration."

"No, I mean, you can actually _fly! _What's it like? Do you do it often? Is it fun? What's it like to touch a cloud?" My mouth was going a mile a minute but I couldn't stop. She could _fly!_

"Slow down Alice, your words are running together. Yes I can fly and yes its amazing, one of the best tings to do on this earth." She looked upwards and seemed to debate something, biting her lip nervously. Her eyes were still silver from our little session earlier and they reflected the light like mirrors.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at me from under her lashes, almost causing my breath to catch in my throat. "Do you…want to try it? Flying I mean."

Now it was my turn to stare, looking from her to the sky and back again. "You'd do that? Take me flying?"

"Of course, that is if you want to."

It felt like my stomach was floating, the excitement I was feeling was that intense. "I definitely want to."

Bella grinned from ear to ear. "I was actually wondering a while ago about taking you, but I never thought that it'd be this soon." She stood up and extended her hand for mine. "It is a great night for it."

I took her hand and allowed her to pull me up. She moved me to the edge of the cliff we were sitting on, glancing down before looking back at me. "So how do we do this?" I asked, slightly nervous now that it was about to happen. I briefly though about Lee's comment about heights and smiled slightly.

"Well, we couldn't be better placed." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. "Do you trust me, Alice?" She asked quietly.

"Yes," I whispered.

Her lips curved into a smile and she leant down to whisper in my ear. "Then hold on tight." With that, she leapt off the edge of the high cliff. I had never jumped off of something so high, so my stomach dropped and I pressed my face into Bella neck, feeling the air whoosh past us at an alarmingly fast pace.

Suddenly, I heard the flutter of wings and we stopped falling. I could feel the edge of the downdraft as Bella's wings caught the wind and propelled us up into the sky. Her arms wrapped tighter around me and I had a death grip around her torso, barely resisting the urge to shriek. We were moving faster than a vampire could run and I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. The wind made a screeching sound as we passed, drowning out all other noise.

Our pace slowed gradually, the air currents smoothing out and the noise toning down until I could hear Bella laughing. "Alice, you have to open your eyes at some point."

"I'm fine with them closed," I said into her neck. I never realized how terrifying flying would be.

"Alice, I know that it's scary the first time, but I promise that if you open your eyes, you won't regret it."

I grudgingly realized that she was right, that I was the one who had asked for this. I shifted my head slightly so that I could see and ever so slowly, I opened my eyes, my breath leaving my body as I did.

The view was astounding, the whole of Forks and beyond spread out before me. We were so high up that the forest below looked like a huge hairy blanket, the houses like Lego and only my vampire sight allowed me to distinguish people, the few that there were. I could easily understand why she preferred the night. Less chance of being seen and she had the joy of seeing the moonlight flow like waves across the land.

Bella banked slightly, changing our course so that we hit an updraft and rose slightly higher. We were just under the cloud cover, almost within touching distance.

Bella spoke into my ear, her breath hot. "So, what do you think?"

"For the fifth time today, I'm going to have to describe something using the words 'absolutely amazing'." I looked at her, seeing the joy and freedom in her gaze. The wind whipped her hair around her head like a halo, her wings moving smoothly to keep us aloft. Carrying me didn't seem to faze her at all.

She smiled suddenly. "You did ask me what a cloud feels like. Want to find out?"

I nodded, holding on tighter.

"I gotta warn you, you will get wet."

"I'm not complaining. T he idea of you in a wet shirt is very appealing."

She laughed. "Can't say I didn't warn you." She raised her wings and pushed down in a powerful stroke, both of us shooting higher into the clouds.

From below, they looked soft and fluffy and while I knew realistically that they were wet and cold, I still wasn't fully prepared. It was like diving into a pool, my clothes becoming instantly soaked, my hair plastered to my face.

Another downward stroke and we were above the clouds, the water droplets reflecting the light and turning it into a sea of silver. "Okay, wet clothes and wind is not a pleasant combination," I stated, shaking some water from my head.

"You get used to it," Bella smirked. She banked again, turning us in a wide circular pattern

I don't know how long we were up there, soaring through the air, but it had to be over an hour. Bella kept me warm as we flew and it was so peaceful that I was disappointed when it eventually ended.

"It's getting pretty late, we should probably head back," Bella said, obviously reluctant.

I sighed. "I guess you're right."

Bella smiled and kissed the back of my neck gently. "Don't worry, we can do this again if you want. I'll even take you when it's sunny out."

I smiled back at her, shielding my face as we descended through the clouds once again. She took us over the forest, back past where we had met the rabbit, past where she had told me her secret, all the way back to my car and her truck, still nestled in that little clearing.

We touched down gently, Bella keeping her wings out in order to let them relax after a long flight.

I kept holding onto her even after we were on solid ground, reluctant to let go of her.

She sighed and kissed the top of my head before stepping away. After so long having her warmth near me, I felt cold without her. I guess I'd always feel cold without her. As soon as she took a step backwards, her wings began glowing that same dark blue. In only a moment, they dissolved into little fairy lights again and then they were gone. Another reminder of what she was, as if her appearance wasn't enough.

"How did this happen?" I wondered aloud.

"How did what happen?"

I gestured between the two of us. "This? Us? How did I get lucky enough to end up with you? Why did you choose me? I mean, you're an _angel _and I'm a vampire. That has to be the weirdest couple in the history of the world."

"Alice, I hope that you're not one of those vampires that believe that you have no soul and don't deserve happiness, because if I have to spend every day for the rest of eternity telling you how fantastic you are, I will do just that." She completed her little rant with a decisive nod, her hair falling in front of her eyes. Even after being up in the air for so long, it was still perfect and smooth.

"Oh, don't worry, brooding is more Edward's department. I'm just in shock that my girlfriend's an angel."

Bella grinned. "Girlfriend, huh?"

I kicked at a pebble with my shoe. "Well, if you'll have me."

Her lips were on mine before I could see her reaction. It was a gentle kiss, feather light and she was gone again before I even knew it. Damn, she _was _fast.

"I am most certainly okay with that."

We stood outside my car, knowing that this was the end of the night. I suddenly remembered something that I was supposed to ask her.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Um, my family was wondering when they'd get to meet you. I don't want to spring it on you or anything, but are you free tomorrow?"

"I guess so." Bella frowned slightly. "Is it okay with you if you don't tell them what I am just yet, I don't want them to have any ideas about how I should act before I meet them."

I nodded. "That's fair, but I'll have a hell of a time getting them to stop pestering me."

"Something tells me that you always get your way."

"That's true."

She opened the car door for me, waiting until I was inside before closing it gently. Leaning down, she looked in my window. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I guess."

She leant in the window and kissed me once more before walking back to her own truck, packing up the Laurel and Hardy movies. As I pulled out of the clearing, she watched me, giving me a slight wave before she was lost from view.

The entire trip home, I had a huge grin on my face and kept touching my lips, still warm from hers. It was only as I was pulling into my driveway that I saw the sticky note on the dash in front of Bella's seat, showing just how distracted I was.

'**Check the backseat,' **was written on it in a flowing script, with a smiling face underneath. Being the sap that I am, I folded it up and tucked it into my pocket, not wanting to throw out anything from this night.

I quickly flitted out of the door and opened the backseat, eager to see what was there. I had been so distracted, I had forgotten that Bella had promised me a present.

Inside was the leather tube she had been carrying in her home, propped up against the seat.

I shut the door, locked it and flitted into the house with the tube held close to my chest.

"Alice, how come whenever you go out with Bella, you come back wet? Is there something we should know?" Emmett and the rest of the family were sitting in the living room, one of the few occasions where they acted normal. It was only then that I realized that I was still wet from the clouds.

I smiled at him, not bothered by his teasing.

"So I take it the date went well?" Esme asked, still wearing that huge grin that she had on when I left.

"It was…absolutely amazing," I breathed. Better make that six times.

"Did she tell you what she was?" Rosalie asked next.

I nodded, but held up a finger to stop their questions. "But I'm not going to tell you yet. She has agreed to meet you guys tomorrow and she doesn't want what she is to cloud your judgments of her."

"Why, is it bad?" Edward this time.

I sighed dreamily. "No. It's very, very good." I looked to my father figure, thinking about Bella's healing ability. "Carlisle, some of the thing she can do, they're amazing, you won't believe it."

"But you can't not tell us," Emmett whined.

I happily ignored him and made my way to the stairs. "I can and I will. Good night all. I'm going to my room for a while."

I left the room, thankful that they respected my privacy enough not to pry. I also knew that Rosalie and Esme would be up later for details and I was actually looking forward to it. Not as much as I was looking forward to Bella meeting my family, but still.

As soon as I was in my room, I opened the tube and pulled out its contents carefully. The inside of the tube was foam, used to hold fragile items and I understood its necessity when I saw what was in the glass tube that I pulled out.

It was a glass rose, but this was different, I could see no tool marks, the entire rose made of a single piece of clearest glass. Like her ring, it looked as if a rose had just turned into glass while it was in full bloom. The stem was a vivid green and the petals were a bright yellow.

A yellow rose, my favourite flower.

How did I get so lucky?

**A/N: There, I hope that you enjoyed it. Don't say I never gave you anything.**

**R&R.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I am well aware of the fact that I am a horrible person for making you wait so long for this update, but I have an excuse. University exams are starting tomorrow and I need to focus on those. On the upside, once they're over, I can spend the summer writing, hence faster updates which will hopefully make up for my appalling lack of punctuality or structure.**

**I'd like to thank all of you guys and gals for the lovely reviews, even though I've been such a turd. Anywho, this goes out to all you guys like Skald of Freya, Ashfisher92, Kraven and many others who bothered with this story.**

BPOV

The wind moved in a gentle rhythm around me, lifting loose strands of hair and ruffling downy feathers. The sun was just rising upon the horizon, free of the confining clouds that had trapped it so recently. The rock beneath me had long since grown warm from my body heat, and there were no less than three lizards perched on my shoulders, along with one small coyote dozing on my lap.

I wasn't sure of the exact time, but it was early, early enough that it was still cool on the Arizona desert. The movements of the sun and moon had always been of great interest to me and the fact that I had not seen a sunrise since moving to Forks was the reason that I had flown out here in the middle of the night.

The trip wasn't a terribly long one, considering I could out-fly an SR-71 Blackbird, nor was it particularly tiring. It seemed to have a vaguely soporific affect, leaving me feeling well rested and content.

After relaying the events of my date with Alice to my insistent family, I had left my home at about two a.m., touching down on a rocky outcropping far from human sight at three a.m... Seeing as it was night, thus fairly cold, I had been immediately set upon by overly-friendly lizards who wanted to use me as an impromptu space-heater.

The three lizards, which I had since dubbed Buddy, Frank and Abbey, had turned out to be great company, although Frank's tendency to lick my ear was becoming a bit strange. The small coyote, Minnie, had arrived about a half an hour ago, crawling into my lap without preamble and curling up with her bushy tail over her face. The sound of her soft snores broke the still-morning silence.

As I watched, the sun finally crested the horizon, sending brilliant rays to bathe my new companions and I. Minnie blinked open her large brown eyes, glancing around in apparent confusion before resting her head on her paws and gazing up at me lazily.

I tipped my head back and revelled in the feeling of the sun on my skin, the gentle warmth that I had come to miss in my new dreary home. Not that my previous homes had much sun either, but the clouds weren't so dark there, nor the air so damp.

I was set to be at the Cullen house in about- I glanced at my watch- two hours and my last minute trip was my attempt to calm my raging nerves.

It wasn't so much the sunlight that had accomplished this, rather, thoughts of seeing Alice again had ceased my worries while at the same time, made my heart beat pleasantly fast. Finally the term 'butterflies in your stomach' was no longer an abstract notion.

I scratched Minnie under her chin, causing her to stretch out her head to allow me more access. "I'm really falling for this one, girl," I sighed. "Granted, so far she's been the only one, but I highly doubt that that will change anytime soon."

I briefly thought about what it would be like to be with anyone other than Alice and actually managed to feel a twinge of revulsion and an overwhelming desire to shut down that line of thought. This prompted my mind to go back to Jesse's comment about supernatural beings and their tendencies to fall fast and hard for their mates. Shape-shifters had their imprints, vampires their mate-bond, so did that mean I had something like that too? Or was the fact that I had only ever been attracted to Alice a result of incredibly high standards on my part?

It was times like these that knowing my birth parents would come in handy. Not to mention during puberty. Those were some crazy times.

Maybe it had something to do with my recent behaviour. Clare had noticed that I was sleeping more than usual, not to mention the fact that I'd gotten really violent with those thugs and had almost slapped Jessica. For my entire life, I had been a very calm person, slow to anger and more prone to soothing conversation than violence.

Sure, I had slightly regretted going all 'Avenging Angel' on those guys, no matter how much they deserved it, but getting into a fight with Paul had been...satisfying. Those men couldn't defend themselves against me, Paul could, which meant that I didn't have any guilt over the matter.

Was I becoming more violent, or was it just because my emotions were going haywire?

"Ugh, I hate introspection," I muttered. "Something similar did happen during puberty. It's probably just hormones, perfectly normal. For once."

Frank chose that moment to make another swipe at my ear, so I decided that I should probably head back.

"Okay fella's, rise and shine." Reaching around, I picked up two lizards, Buddy and Abbey, placing them gently on a rock near my head. Frank decided to be difficult and pull a Sanderson, hooking his tiny claws into my shirt to hold on.

I sighed, taking extra care to pull them out before picking him up. "Let's not make this more difficult than it already is, Frank." I placed him on the rock with the others, all three of them staring at me. Minnie placed both paws on my chest, licking my nose once before walking off my lap and sitting down on her haunches. I patted her head and stood up, taking a few steps away.

"Bye guys," I said, unfurling my wings and propelling myself into the air, waves of dust and sand rising from where I stood. The rocky outcropping as well as the animals who still sat there grew rapidly smaller the higher I went. A sound like a thunderclap split the silence as I accelerated fast enough to break the sound barrier, a circular disk of white left in the air far behind me.

The sun beat down on my back as I flew quickly towards home. I didn't have to worry about a human spotting me, as I'd appear as less than a blur to them, so I could enjoy the sun before the clouds blocked it once again.

By the time I touched down in my back garden, my eyes were half-lidded with contentment and my nerves were all but gone.

Flying. The poor people's valium.

"Bella, it's about time you got back. You have to eat something before going to the Cullens, you don't want to keep your lady waiting," Clare called from the kitchen, the sounds of pots and pans clanging showing that she was once again rearranging things.

I danced into the room in high spirits, kissing my mother on the cheek in greeting before deftly plucking an apple from the well-stocked basket. "Good morning all," I sang, taking a healthy bite from the fresh fruit.

Micheal gave me an appraising glance from his seat, folding the newspaper in his lap. "Someone's in a happy mood today."

I sat down sideways on one of the chairs, giving my wings a little ruffle to get them comfortable. "And why shouldn't I be? It's a beautiful day, I'm surrounded by my beautiful family and I will shortly be on my way to see my beautiful girlfriend."

Micheal laughed, tossing the paper onto the table beside him and placing his forearms on his knees. "I knew it would be about Alice. That little pixie has really done a number on you, hasn't she?"

I thought back to last night, holding Alice in my arms as we soared over Forks, the smile on her face as she pressed herself closer. "That she has."

"Well I'm happy for you Bella, you deserve someone special in your life and from what Clare tells me, Alice is perfect for you."

Feeling a random surge of emotion, I hopped up and threw my arms around him. "Thanks Dad," I said into his neck, smiling when he smoothed my hair down, my wings making it difficult for him to return the hug.

"You're welcome, Scout. Now hurry up and get ready, you have to impress that girl of yours."

I kissed him quickly on the cheek, his permanent stubble tickling my lips, before zipping up the stairs and into my room. Quickly disrobing, I made my way into the bathroom where the sound of purring and a small heartbeat drew my attention to the towel rack. Sanderson was stretched out on his back, paws tucked into his chest, blissful expression on his little face. "Great, now I have hairy towels," I grumbled, lips twitching as I turned on the shower and hopped in, enjoying the warm spray as it hit my skin. Cleaning my wings wasn't exactly necessary, as when they dematerialized, any dirt or water didn't go with them, leaving them completely fresh whenever I took them out. It was also pretty difficult trying to manoeuvre in a shower stall with them, so I quickly sent them back into the ether, a flash of heat telling me that they had taken on tattoo form.

God, was I ever thankful that I could do that. I mean, flying is great and I don't know how I'd be able to go on without it, but my ring didn't work when my wings were out and a supernaturally beautiful, winged girl would definitely attract attention in most walks of life.

I stayed in for as long as I could, the steady stream of water trying to lull me into a doze. One thing about me is that while I don't sleep often, I could fall asleep in the damndest places. Including standing up, as my family discovered one summer afternoon when I was six. It was strangely comfortable.

By the time I made my way out of the shower, Sanderson was awake and sitting in the sink, cooling off from the steam in the air. Why he didn't just leave the room, I don't know.

I decided to forgo the hairy towels and instead upped my temperature until steam rose and I was once again dry, walking into my room on fleet feet. My next stop was my wardrobe, taking out the clothes I had picked out in my brief 'Oh crap I'm gonna meet Alice's family' panic. It was nothing special, just dark jeans and a pressed white shirt. I had always been a pretty easygoing person when it came to fashion, so I thought going all out wouldn't be truthful to who I was. Still, that didn't mean that I wanted to look like a slob.

My hair, the very embodiment of low-maintenance, fell in soft waves around my face and down my back, without even the need to brush. I could never understand how some humans could stand in front of a mirror every morning with a slew of beauty products to administer. I got impatient just getting dressed.

My ring was resting on the bedside table where I had deposited it upon returning from my flight. As soon as I slipped it on, I felt the familiar unpleasant tingle settle onto me. The strands of brilliant white hair on my shoulder darkened to a deep brown and my mask was once again firmly in place.

With twenty minutes left to get to the Cullen's house, I walked down the stairs, cat on my heels. Immediately, he shot off to his dish, spying the food that Clare had placed within.

The woman in question turned to me with a smile. "Have fun, and...be careful." Her tone was cautious. While she had met, scanned and accepted Alice, she had yet to meet the rest of her family and both she and Micheal were a tiny bit worried.

I wrapped her in a quick hug, briefly wondering why I was being so touchy-feely all of a sudden. "Would you two relax, I'll be fine."

She returned the hug with enthusiasm. "Hey, we would worry even if they weren't vampires and you weren't an angel, it's a parents prerogative."

I rolled my eyes, pulling away and walking backwards to the door. "As long as you don't do something crazy to 'test Alice's commitment'. I still haven't forgiven you for Dale." Without waiting for a reply, which would most likely be a half-assed attempt at explaining away their actions, I shot out the door and was in the car in a second and officially on my way to meet the famous Cullen Clan.

APOV

"Okay, so do you all understand?" I asked, looking at my family with a serious expression.

Edward sighed from his spot on the couch. "Yes Alice. Don't badger Bella about what she is, you'll tell us eventually. Don't bring up any of your more embarrassing past stories and don't act like asses. You've only told us about twenty times."

I sighed, glancing out the window again. "I know and I'm sorry, I just want this to go well."

"And it will go well, Short Stack, Bella will love us and we'll love Bella. If for no other reason than that she makes you happy," Emmett stated, coming over and wrapping his arm around me in a hug.

I promptly snuggled into my big bear of a brother, never being able to resist one of his hugs. "Thanks Emmy."

Edward snickered. "Jeeze Emmett, you're losing your manliness by the litre. Emmy? Ha!"

I released Emmett as Rosalie came over and drew her mate into a scorching kiss, drawing away after about ten whole seconds. "I love your soft side. You are definitely getting some tonight," she stated seductively, licking her lips slowly.

Emmett grinned and looked at Edward smugly. My telepathic brother immediately looked over at the still-silent Jasper hopefully, smirk sliding off his face as his mate shook his head. "Sorry Edward, you're on your own tonight."

"What? But why?" It came out as a whine and Emmett had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

Jasper closed the book that he was reading and casually glanced at Edward. "Well, I agree with Rosalie. Emmett is very secure in his male prowess to be able to give hugs like that. In fact, I think that you should take a page out of his book."

Edwards brows drew down in confusion. "You want me to hug Alice?" Jasper nodded, tiny smile on his face. "But why?"

"Because you won't be getting any until you do, I know for a fact that Alice won't make it easy for you and I'm bored, I could use the entertainment." He went back to his book, but not before sending out a concentrated wave of lust toward Edward, causing him to jerk in his seat.

"Are you going to be doing that all day?" Edward asked.

"Yes."

"That's not fair."

"Never said it was."

"I'll go crazy. And Alice is too small and fast to catch!"

He turned a page. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

I felt a vision tug at my head and relaxed slightly to focus on it.

_Edward took a flying leap off the stair case, arms open wide, missing future me by inches as I danced out of his way. I smirked at him before blurring out of the room._

_Edward ran out the door after me, crazed look in his eyes. "For the love of God Alice, please HUG ME!"_

I came back to myself, laughing hysterically, the bewildered look on Edwards face showing me that he still couldn't read my mind, something that I had been enjoying for several hours. The knowledge that it was because of Bella's feelings for me made me feel decidedly giddy.

I was still snickering by the time Esme and Carlisle came home from the grocery store a few minutes later. They had wanted to get some things in case Bella got hungry and had decided to brave the aisles of human food together, presumably in case some kind of homicidal midget erupted from the canned food section wielding a deadly weapon in the form of Spam.

The food only required one trip to bring in, as I had told them of Bella's small appetite, as well as her vegetarian status, something which had brought several chuckles from those family members within hearing distance.

"Alright, we got fruit, vegetables, bread, juice, dairy products, free range eggs and varying types of pretzels," Esme stated, looking strangely proud of the success of her expedition. I knew Bella would blush at knowing they had gone out of their way for her, but Esme had wanted to do everything in her power to make sure Bella felt welcome with us. I had spent a portion of the night telling her and Rosalie about my date last night, leaving out the angelic side of things, and Esme practically spent the entire time cooing. She was a hopeless romantic.

I smiled at her, pleased that she was taking such an interest. Of course, I knew before I had ever met Bella that she would take an interest, that was just Esme, but it was still nice to see. In fact, all my family were going to make an effort, Emmett had even been persuaded to wear a shirt for the occasion, something that he usually avoided like the bubonic plague.

"Thanks Esme. I'm not even sure she'll want to eat anything, but it's better to have something and not need it than need something and not have it," I said absently, looking at one of the items curiously. "Hey, what are those fruity things? I've never seen them before." I paused momentarily. "They are fruit, right?"

Esme looked at the oddly shaped things with a sheepish expression. "Back when I actually ate food they didn't have these exotic foods and I didn't want to bother the salesperson."

I looked at her blankly. "You don't know, do you?"

She took a breath and scratched the back of her neck. "Not really, no." Almost in unison, our heads moved to regard the mystery objects. They looked like tiny little purple pumpkins.

Our intense concentration was broken by the sound of a nearby car engine and considering the fact that our house was in the back end of nowhere it could only be Bella. A wave of excitement welled up in me and I quickly shot into the front hall, Esme following close behind. The rest of my family lined up behind me, unable to hide their blatant curiosity.

We stood there for a few moments before Emmett piped up. "Um, guys, wouldn't it be kinda weird for Bella to come in the door to see all of us just standing here staring at her?"

We looked at each other in silent contemplation.

"Yeah, you guys should go sit down or something," I said, nodding. Jasper, Edward, Emmett and Rosalie all walked into the living room, the tiny whine a telltale sign that Emmett had turned on the Xbox.

It wasn't long before the car could be heard moving onto gravel, Bella's unique heartbeat was absent due to the fact that it was actually almost silent, only being heard if she was in the same room as me. Next came the sound of an engine being abruptly cut off, keys clattering as they were removed and slipped into a pocket, the door opening then closing shortly after followed by the almost silent footsteps of the ever quiet Bella.

BPOV

I had seen the Cullen's house before, when Alice had come on the trip to Port Angeles only a few days before, yet it didn't lose any of its beauty this time around. The windows were still clear enough to be an unknown obstacle for most birds, the wood was clean and well cared for and the tiles of the roof were free of lichen. Basically, it looked brand-spankin' new.

It was obvious that they could hear me, so I wasn't at all surprised when the door opened just as I was walking up the stairs. The small shape behind the door suddenly launching itself at me was less expected, but very welcome. Alice's bright, sweet scent wafted around me as she collided with me bodily. I staggered back a step, narrowly avoiding being knocked flat on my ass. My arms went around her automatically and I couldn't hold in my laugh at her enthusiasm, a laugh that was almost immediately silenced by her lips on mine. We fell into a natural rhythm, her arms coming around my neck as her tongue ran across my bottom lip in a request for entrance, which I happily granted. My entire world narrowed down to the person in my arms and for those not so few seconds, I promptly forgot where I was. That is until a polite cough caused me to pull away slightly and look up. Right into the amused faces of Alice's parents.

Now, the natural response for me in this situation would be to blush like mad and start stuttering, but for some reason, I couldn't find it in me to be embarrassed. Being the girlfriend of someone as amazing as Alice was something to be darn proud of and to my surprise, I found myself smiling brightly at the two.

I had seen Esme before in passing when the girls from school and I were picking Alice up. She was a kind looking woman, the type to be ready with a brightly coloured Band-Aid and a lollipop to any child with the ever present scraped knee. The fact that she had movie star good looks should have made that a strange image, but it didn't.

The man beside her, the father of the household and the original vegetarian vampire, however, I had yet to meet. He was fairly tall, just shy of six feet, with short blond hair and golden eyes that I could only describe as wise. His whole demeanour was one of quiet intellect, the kind of man you'd find sitting in a well-stocked study in front of a roaring fire, reading a thick, leather-bound book, with half-moon glasses on his face. His physical youth didn't detract from this image at all.

Alice tucked in to my side, her right arm around my waist as my left arm encircled her shoulders. I glanced down at her spiky head, her eyes glancing up at my through her thick lashes.

"Miss me, did you?" I asked in a teasing tone.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she replied, eyes locked on my lips.

Unfortunately, before either of us could resume our enjoyable greeting, a less than polite cough emanated from further in the house. I arched an eyebrow at Alice as she pulled me towards her waiting family.

"Bella, this is Esme and this is Carlisle, Esme, Carlisle, this is Bella," she stated, complete with hand gestures.

Esme automatically stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, reminding my acutely of when I was still an infant and I used to practically live in Clare's arms. She smelt like flowers, natural and sort of sweet.

"Hello, Bella. It's lovely to finally meet you," she said, holding me at arm's length to get a good look at me. Her eyes flickered to Alice and she smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too, Esme and I must say, you have a lovely home. Alice tells me you designed it yourself?"

Her smile widened even further. "Thank you, Bella. And yes, I did design it. It's a hobby of mine."

I whistled appreciatively. "Some hobby."

Carlisle came forward next, holding out his hand which I immediately took. His grip was powerful, yet gentle at the same time. I could see his eyes widen a fraction of an inch at my temperature, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. Alice had told me that her pseudo father loved mysteries, but would never invade someone's privacy. He wouldn't badger me with questions until I felt comfortable answering them, something that I was grateful for.

"I share my wife's sentiments in that it is a pleasure to meet you at last. Alice has told us a lot about you."

I blame years of living with Jesse for my immediate response. "Whatever she said, it's a lie, I didn't do it and she has no proof." Thankfully they assumed that I was joking, if the bark of a laugh from the house was anything to go by.

He released my hand, chuckling. "Don't worry, she only had good things to say about you."

"Well, in that case, it's an honour to meet you. You're something of a legend in our house." At his raised eyebrow, I continued. "Without you, my family would never have known that there was another way to live."

"It always brings me joy to know that other vampires choose to live as I do and save innocent human lives."

Before any of us could continue, a booming voice called out. "Oh, for God's sake, would you guys hurry up, I wanna meet Bella!"

Alice laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the house. The inside was just as impressive as the outside, full of dark wood and marble, but stopping just short of ostentatious and remaining on the side of tasteful. Esme really had a talent for this kind of thing and I automatically thought that she would get on well with Micheal. He may not build houses, but he was an amazing stone carver and they would have lots to talk about.

The living room came next, a beautifully styled room with dark, hard-wood floors, cream walls with a brown border, dark leather furniture and in the corner, on a raised dais, a beautiful baby grand piano. I absently wondered if Alice played.

I had seen them all at school, the huge, muscle-bound Emmett, the blond bombshell Rosalie, the scar covered Jasper and Edward, he of the gravity defying hair, but I had only had a conversation, however brief, with Edward.

Emmett promptly jumped up, not giving me any time to react before he pulled me away from Alice and wrapped me in a huge hug, lifting me clear off the ground.

Now, I wasn't the tallest of people, only about five six with shoes and I was very slim and compact. I also weighed about sixty pounds, due to the fact that my bones were much lighter, but much stronger than a human's.

Emmett, on the other hand, was a living tree. I was well on my way to worrying about whether or not I would need a map and compass to find my way out of his arms when he held me up by a gentle grip on my shoulders, which were swallowed up by his huge hands. I was reminded of that scene in the Lion King, when Simba was held up by Rafiki as I was about four feet off the floor.

"Hi Bella, I'm Emmett, your new best friend," he stated, still holding me aloft.

"Wow, you sure do move fast, you've known me for all of three minutes," I replied, my higher vantage point allowing me to see the others without Emmett's mass in the way.

He grinned. "I can already tell you're awesome." He blinked suddenly and leaned in closer, taking a deep breath. "Wow, this close you really do smell great."

I paused for a minute, blinking. "I'm not really sure how to respond to that."

"Emmett, put the girl down," Edward said in mock exasperation, obviously used to his brother's displays.

My feet finally touched the floor and Edward greeted me with a hand shake. "Bella, it's nice to see you again."

I smiled sheepishly. "You too, although I feel I should apologise for my behaviour last time."

He waved it off. "No matter, we're all entitled to our secrets. Though I must admit, not being able to read yours or your families mind was an experience for me, albeit a good one. It gets tiring knowing what everyone is thinking all the time."

"I can see how that would get to be a pain after the novelty wore off," I said, not being able to imagine reading everyone's inner most thoughts day after day.

He rolled his eyes. "You have no idea, especially being surrounded by people like Jessica and Lauren all day. I now know more about Justin Bieber than I ever wanted to know before."

I laughed at the expression on his face. The sound of feet scuffling on wood prompted me to glance to the side, seeing Jasper moving toward me slowly. His nostrils flared, like he was testing the air before he looked satisfied and closed the distance between us.

He held his hand out like Edward had, but when I took it, he placed his other hand over mine. Looking me in the eye, he took a deep breath. "Bella, I would just like to thank you again for what you did the other day. You saved me from making a horrible mistake."

"It's no problem, Jasper, I'm just glad I was there," I stated quietly, never being good with receiving thanks.

"We're all glad you were there. Had you not been, at the very best our secret would have been revealed and at the worst, that poor girl would have died," Carlisle cut in, looking every bit as grateful as he sounded.

I blushed slightly, deciding to change the subject. Seeing as Rosalie was the only one that I had yet to greet, I stepped forward and held my hand out. "Hello Rosalie, it's nice to meet you."

She looked from my hand to me and I could tell that she was sizing me up. After a second, she seemed to decide something and reached out her own hand to shake mine. "Likewise, Bella." Her voice was quiet, but not unkind. She had always seemed cold and distant, even bitchy, to the humans at the school, but I guessed that was just a mask that she put on so as not to get to close to them.

As soon as I released her hand, Alice didn't waste any more time returning to my side and my arm wrapped around her shoulders without conscious thought.

"Awww, you too make such a cute couple," Emmett cooed. Yes, the giant tree-man actually cooed.

I chuckled. "Any couple with Alice in it would invariably be cute."

Alice grinned up at me. "Charmer." She looked at her family. "You can have her in a while, I want to show her my room." I couldn't help but smile at that, it was like something a little kid did, wanting to show off their room to their new friend.

Everyone looked at Emmett, as though waiting for something. He waved his hand indifferently. "Nah, that one's just too easy, I have my standards ya know."

"That's a first," Alice quipped, once again grabbing my hand and hauling me up the stairs. She never seemed to want to wait for anything, always in a hurry. The second floor had just as much windows as the first, in many different shapes and sizes. Light wood made up the floor of the hall, leading off into several branches and doors. She led me down the main hall until we reached the door at the end, made of a thick, dark oak.

"You're very eager to get me into your bedroom, is there something that I should know?" I laughed at the embarrassed look on her face. Usually, I was the one to get flustered in a conversation.

She mock scowled at me. "Get your mind out of the gutter, I only wanted to show you the fantastic place that is my room."

I leaned down until my lips were right beside her ear. "Well, if that's all, I can't say I'm not disappointed," I whispered, thoroughly enjoying the way she froze slightly and gulped audibly before opening the door to her room and pulling me inside. She closed the door by pressing my body against it and pulling my head down for a kiss. I happily complied, knowing that I would never get tired of kissing Alice no matter how long I lived. Her lips seemed to get softer every time, her scent sweeter and I could finally understand what all the fuss was about relationships. They were freaking fantastic.

Alice's room, which I had yet to actually see, was getting steadily warmer and I knew that my body temperature was rising again. God, if this happened from just kissing, what would happen if we ever went further. That thought only served to make my temperature shoot up another couple of degrees.

I pulled away from her, panting, trying to calm myself down before I spontaneously combusted. Something that could, theoretically, happen.

"Okay, I have a confession to make. I had an ulterior motive to showing you my room," Alice gasped, her bodies lack of need for air forgotten for the moment.

"You don't hear me complaining." I looked over her shoulder, noting the various sketches lining her walls, the queen-sized four-poster bed, the double door closet that I suspected held an entire clothing stores worth of outfits and the yellow glass rose proudly displayed on her dressing table.

Alice followed my gaze and smiled. "I've been meaning to thank you for that. It's beautiful."

"Would it be cheesy if I said 'a beautiful rose for a beautiful lady'?"

She laughed, golden eyes twinkling. "Yes, yes it would, but I appreciate the sentiment. And I have to ask, where did you get it, it must have cost a fortune?"

"Ah...I, um, sorta made it," I mumbled. Well, there went my non-nervous streak...

Her eyes widened comically. "You _made it._ How?"

"Well, sand and fire equals glass. When it comes to wood or stone carving I have the ability of a three year old, my painting leaves a lot to be desired and I'm okay with drawing, but give me some glass or metal and I'm sorted."

"Huh, so you do have some flaws. And here I thought that you were perfect." Her tone was teasing, but there was an undercurrent of truth to it. A lot of people thought that angels were perfect at everything and while I was good at a lot of things, I wasn't infallible.

"Nobody is perfect."

She brushed a lock of hair from my face. "Well, you come pretty damn close."

Our eyes locked once again and I was just about to lean in to resume my new favourite pastime, when Esme's voice called up from downstairs. "Bella, would you like something to eat?"

I glanced at Alice, who shrugged. "They went food shopping." Despite the apple that I had had this morning, I found myself a bit peckish, something that was fairly unusual. Oh well, my appetite had increased during puberty too, I'll just blame it on that.

We both walked down the stairs, finding Emmett and Jasper locked in a heated battle on the Xbox, Edward and Rosalie looking on. I knew that they had heard everything, and I do mean everything, but they politely refrained from bringing it up, although the effort seemed to be causing Emmett some distress.

Alice led me past them into the kitchen, which was small compared to the rest of the rooms, but then again, it was only there for show. On top of the table in the centre of the room, was a collection of foods.

"Oh, Esme, you really didn't have to go to all this trouble, it-"

She held up a hand, cutting me off. "Now Bella, it's my hope that you spend more time here, so I wanted to be prepared. Now, could you do me a favour and tell me what these are?"

I looked at the small objects in her hand and felt a smile of delight cross my face. "Surinam cherries! I _love _Surinam cherries. Where on earth did you find them in Forks?" I adored every kind of fruit, but I had my favourites and one of them was before me right now. I hadn't had them in about two years.

Esme didn't speak for a moment, seemingly surprised by my reaction. "So it's a fruit then?"

Alice laughed and plucked them out of her mother's hand, tossing them to me. "I think we can assume it's a fruit."

I happily popped one in my mouth, enjoying the sweet taste. "Hmmmm," I hummed.

Alice snickered at my expression. "You remind me of that baby in Ice Age when he's eating that watermelon."

I swallowed the fruit in my mouth. "Hey, that kid had great taste, watermelons are like little slices of heaven."

Her eyes glittered as she held up a cherry to my lips for me to eat. I purposefully let my lips brush against her fingers, watching her as she shivered. "You'd know all about that."Alice stretched up on her toes and would have kissed me if not for the interruption of her brother.

"Hey Bella, come on and play some games with us," Emmett called, sounding for all the world like a little kid.

Esme handed me a couple more cherries with a smile and I thanked her before walking in the direction of Emmett's voice.

I walked in and sat down on one of the armchairs, pulling Alice onto my lap where she promptly snuggled into my side. I loved how cuddly she was.

Emmett tossed me one of the controllers and resumed his seat beside Jasper and Edward. "You play any Halo before?" He inquired, pulling up the menu that would allow him to change it from three-player to four.

"Occasionally," I said, trying to focus on the game and not on the delightful pixie on top of me. It wasn't going very well.

"Okay, you're with Jasper and I'll be with Edward," he said excitedly, prompting me to pay more attention. I was wearing blue armour, Jasper in red, while Emmett and Edward were in the customary green.

Two hours later I was sitting bolt upright in my chair, Alice somehow curling comfortably around me, staring at the screen with wide-eyed concentration. "Jasper, run! He's on your tail!"

"I'm trying, he's too fast! I need some help down here," he said through gritted teeth, mashing buttons furiously while dodging weapons fire from an over-enthusiastic Emmett.

"Oh, you guys are going down!" The burly vampire crowed, following the fleeing Jasper down the hill.

"Wait Emmett, don't! It's a trap!" Edward yelled, but too late. He watched in horror as my avatar popped out from behind a boulder and tossed a frag grenade at him. Jasper took the opportunity to turn completely around, drop into a crouch and start shooting the hell out of the now floundering Emmett. He went down, his teammate too far away to help him.

"Nooooooo!" He cried dramatically, opening his eyes just in time to see Edward go down from a sniper shot from Jasper. "Nooooooooooooooooo!"

"Ha! Victory is ours. Maybe next time, you won't be so cocky, Emmett," I taunted, reaching over to exchange a high-five with Jasper, who still somehow managed to look stoic despite the smile on his face.

Edward patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry man, I'm sure Rose will console you," he stated, smirk on his face despite being so thoroughly defeated. The vampire in question raised an eyebrow at him, then pointedly looked at Jasper. Edward immediately twitched violently in his seat, swinging around to stare at his mate, who smiled in return.

"Oh come on, Jazz, cut me some slack here," he whined, thoroughly confusing me.

Alice giggled and burrowed further into me as Edward sent a glare in her direction. I decided that not asking what that was about was my best option.

Alice placed her hand on my cheek and turned me to face her, looking at me curiously. "I can't believe that I didn't notice it before."

My eyebrows drew downward in confusion. "Notice what?"

"What a nerd you are," she said, as though it were obvious.

"Hey! I'm cool," I said in mock protest, trying my best to look offended.

Emmett scoffed. "Dude, you just spent the last two hours playing Halo."

"So did you," I retorted.

"Yeah, but I'm a muscle-bound stud. Have you ever heard of a muscle-bound nerd? No? I thought not, because it doesn't exist. My sheer manliness prevents me from being one, not to mention having a hottie for a wife."

I looked between him and Rosalie with interest. "You two are married?"

"Yeah, like twenty times," Alice said, making gentle circles on my neck with her finger. It was an extremely pleasant sensation.

"Well, that's nice. Renewing your vows and all that." Her hand moved from my neck to my collar bone, tracing the dips and curves found there.

"Yes, it is nice," she said slowly. Our gazes locked on each other's lips and I was about to swoop in to steal a kiss when a loud 'meow' broke the silence.

"Damnit!" I yelled. Three times in a row I was stopped from kissing her. Did these things wait until the worst possible times to-? Wait, a meow?

I snapped my head around, not all that surprised to see Sanderson ambling in to the Cullen's sitting room. None of us had paid any attention to the animal sounds outside, but we should have, seeing as animals didn't come in to any kind of contact with vampires unless in strange circumstances. Like right now. How in the hell did he get here?

He let out another long, drawn out meow before walking over to the couch and butting his head against it.

Esme and Carlisle came down the stairs to see what was going on and I couldn't help but laugh at the looks on all their faces.

"Um...," Emmett mumbled, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Sorry, that's my cat, Sanderson. He must have followed me here," I said, slightly embarrassed.

Rosalie frowned, not taking her eyes off of the small feline. "How do you have a cat? You live with vampires."

At the sound of her voice, Sanderson looked up at her and ambled over to the love seat she was stretched out on. She regarded his approach warily, while the other Cullen's looked on in undisguised fascination. Remembering Alice's reaction to the friendly cat, I realised that this was probably the first time any of them had been around an animal that they didn't see as food in decades, even centuries.

"Animals like me and I trained Sanderson to not be afraid of vegetarian vampires so he could stay with us," I replied, unable to stop the smile from forming on my face at her confused expression.

He reached the seat and gazed up at her, little nose twitching, before putting his paws up on the fabric and kneading it gently, a purr forming deep in his chest. If her expression was confused before, it was downright shocked when he launched himself up onto her chest, butting his face into hers in a cat greeting.

The blond vampire jerked her head away from his. "What's it doing?"

I swallowed the laugh building in my throat and answered her in a tremulous voice. "He's saying hi. He likes you."

I tried to hold it in, but when he turned around three times withershins on her chest, before curling up and tucking his face into her neck, I let loose a gasping laugh that was almost soundless in its intensity. Feeling Alice shaking beside me only made it worse and had she not been sitting on me, I would have doubled over.

Rosalie gingerly placed her hands around the happily sleeping cat and made an attempt to pull him off, but he had already hooked his claws in and refused to let go. "How do I get him off?"

The rest of Alice's family seemed to have moved on from their shock, onto amusement at Rosalie's predicament.

"It's best if you just leave him there, even if you do manage to get him off, he'll just keep coming back," I managed to say, finally having gotten my laughter under control. Alice wasn't so lucky and buried her face into my neck to muffle it, failing miserably.

Rosalie scowled at her. "This isn't funny, Alice." Sanderson's purring intensified and I realised why he had been drawn to her.

"He likes your voice."

"What?"

I gestured to the cat. "Your voice, he likes it, that's why he's sleeping on your neck."

The blond vampire seemed at a total loss as to what to do. She obviously wasn't used to handling something so fragile and she seemed reluctant to hurt him, so she just sort of lay there, eyes looking at the small animal as best she could.

"How did he follow you here, you came in a car," Carlisle inquired, tearing his eyes away from the downright bizarre sight before him.

I shrugged. "Our houses aren't that far away from each other and he associates the scent of vampires with family, so I guess he just followed that." Pausing for a moment, I regarded my pet. "In retrospect, it's probably a bad thing. I'd hate for him to try to make friends with a vampire that wouldn't have any qualms about killing him."

"It's amazing that he's going against his nature and seems so comfortable here," Esme spoke up, glancing at the cat with obvious affection.

Rosalie frowned. "Well, don't just stare. Put on a movie or something while I wait for him to get off of me." She shifted slightly to the side, obviously hoping that he would slide off. Instead, he merely crawled forward, staying on top of her. A more determined cat you will never find, he never seemed to realise that not everyone wanted him to sit on them.

Edward was the first to get out of his funk, walking over to the cabinet and pulling out a movie at random, frequently casting glances back at the two.

It was about a half an hour into the movie, The Dark Knight, before people stopped paying attention to the cat, seemingly accepting his presence as the weird occurrence that it was. Well, everyone except Rosalie.

"I gotta admit, Batman sounds like he has throat cancer in this movie," Emmett stated, sitting upside down on the couch with his feet hanging over the end.

"I think he's trying to sound intimidating," I offered, completely relaxed myself. Movie night was something that my family did frequently and the Cullen's had been really accepting so far that I was happy where I was. Alice stretched fully on top of me with her head on my shoulder didn't hurt either.

"Well, based on how much the Joker laughs at him, he's failing pretty badly," Edward put in. He had moved closer to his own mate and they were now both curled up together. I had to admit, I was surprised. In school, he had always seemed so proper, but now he was acting like a teenager. I suppose it made a little bit of sense. People began acting like adults because society expected them to, but if society was always expecting you to act young and you spent so long every day pretending to be, then after a while the act you put on became who you were. The Cullen teens were a strange mixture of old-fashioned adults and modern day teenagers.

"The Joker's insane, he laughs at everybody," Alice pointed out, going back to tracing my collar bone. Her cold finger on my skin was a pleasant contrast.

"Good point, but I still think that he sounds ridiculous," he continued.

"Speaking of sounding ridiculous, how's that two face guy talking at all. He should sound like a zombie with a wound like that," I said, brow furrowed as I thought of how long it would take for him to make any kind of sense.

"Meh, it's a comic book movie, they don't have to make sense," Emmett shrugged.

We sat there for several hours, watching various movies and just talking. I found Alice's family to be very nice people, easy for me to get along with and despite their curiosity, not one of them asked me any questions about what I was.

Emmett turned out to be incredibly funny, narrating along to several of the scenes, reducing the rest of us to fits of laughter, Edward was quieter, but revealed a talent for impersonations that he used to great effect. Jasper didn't say anything about any of the movies, but scoffed frequently during Cold Mountain, prompting several digs in the ribs from Emmett. We were reaching the end of the long film when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Rosalie was absently stroking Sanderson. That cat could warm the cockles of anyone's heart. She saw me looking and promptly schooled her features, causing me to grin and look back at the screen.

Even Carlisle and Esme joined us, choosing a seat of their own closest to the hall and I often saw Esme smiling over at Rosalie, or at Alice and I.

And Alice herself was an incredibly sneaky pixie, stealing kisses or light caresses when no one else was looking, or even when they were. I had been subjected to Emmett's brand of humour a lot during the day.

Esme had plied me with more cherries and Alice had decided to hold onto them, slipping one past my lips every now and then, watching with rapt fascination as I ate them.

"You know, if you guys do that in school, you're gonna break a lot of hearts and cause a lot of boners." Emmett's voice broke me out of my Alice-induced distraction.

"Emmett!" Esme scolded, looking aghast at her son's phrasing.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I was just saying. Besides, we don't even know if they're gonna keep it under wraps or not."

My brows drew down in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you about that," Alice said, turning me to look at her. "No one at school knows about us and while I'm perfectly fine with it, I was wondering whether or not you want our relationship to be public."

I looked at her closely, seeing the uncertainty in her gaze. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I mean, public opinion and all that, I didn't know if that would bother you." At my obviously blank look, she continued. "Not everyone is okay with same sex relationships. It could cause some problems."

It finally clicked in my head what she meant. "Ohhhhhh, you mean homophobia?" She nodded. "I forgot about that. But to answer your question, no, I'm not bothered if people know. If they have a problem, then they can live with it."

She automatically perked up. "Really?"

"So you have no issue with it?" Emmett cut in.

I gave him a look that clearly said I questioned his sanity. "Dude, I'm dating _Alice Cullen. _I'll have a hard enough time not swaggering into school, let alone letting some close minded people bother me."

The rest of them chuckled, while Alice drew me into a deep kiss. "I really am lucky to have you."

"Likewise," I replied, doing my best to tone down the heat caused by her ardent display of affection.

The sound of a phone ringing upstairs caused heads to swivel and look up. Carlisle got to his feet. "That's the office phone," he said by way of explanation and blurred upstairs, the sound of a door shutting followed, then silence. I glanced at Alice quizzically.

"The office is sound proof so Carlisle can talk to and about patients with as much privacy as possible."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," I said, glancing at Edward and wondering if he could still 'hear' Carlisle.

He saw me looking and smiled. "I focus on not reading him when he's up there."

I nodded once and waited with the others for him to return. When he did, he had a strange expression on his face. "That was the La Push wolves."

Rosalie growled and even I was surprised when Sanderson didn't bolt. From the way he snuggled closer, he enjoyed the vibrations. "What do those mutts want?"

"Sam called to inform us that Jacob and Billy are on their way here, against his wishes." He turned to look at me. "He said that they're coming here to see Bella and they wouldn't wait."

Oh crap. What now?

**A/N: Okay, I wasn't going to end it here, but my maths exam is on tomorrow and I just wanted to get this out here. More chapters in the future, and I'm sorry if it wasn't up to par.**

**R&R.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Okay, I've had some crazy times lately, the least of which being my old laptop being infected with a Trojan virus and needing to be scrubbed. Meaning I had to write all this out again. On a new laptop. Which I had to go out and buy. Also, I think I failed maths…**

APOV

I turned my head to look at Bella closely. Her brows were drawn down in confusion and she was biting her lip in the cutest fashion. I could tell that she had no idea as to why Jacob and Billy were coming over, so I didn't bother asking.

"Carlisle, this is a breach of the treaty, we can't just sit back and let it happen," Rosalie growled out.

Our adoptive father sighed, rubbing his jaw in a gesture he used whenever he was thinking about something important. "I know that, Rosalie, but we don't even know what they want and I'm reluctant to start a war for any reason except in dire straits. Remember, they've never crossed the treaty line before and this is against Sam's and the remainder of the Pack's wishes."

Edward scoffed. "Or so he says."

I decided to be the voice of reason before this escalated. "Edward, you'll be able to verify his story by reading his mind as soon as he arrives. If he's lying, we can decapitate him and put his head on a pike."

Bella suddenly started giggling, prompting all of us to look at her in confusion. Catching sight of our expressions, she clapped her hand over her mouth and schooled her features, looking contrite. "Sorry, I don't know why I found that funny." I couldn't help but smirk slightly at her embarrassment. She looked so cute.

"Bella, do you have any idea as to why Jacob and Billy would be coming here to see you?" Carlisle asked her, glancing toward the clock on the wall as though the wolves were on a schedule.

She seemed to think about that for a minute, bottom lip finding its way between her teeth once again. "No, not really. I mean, I only met Jacob twice. Once at my house when we were establishing our own treaty and once at La Push."

My gaze snapped up from where it had been inching its way down Bella's shirt. "Why was he with you at La Push? You said that the wolves told you they'd leave you alone if you went there."

She nodded once, seemingly amused at my behaviour. "I know, but they sent Seth, one of the younger wolves to keep an eye on me. He seemed lonely and I could hear his stomach from a mile away, so I invited him to our camp for some food. One of the other wolves, a guy by the name of Paul, didn't like him 'fraternising with the enemy', and there was a little…confrontation. Jacob and the others showed up later."

I surprised even myself a little with the intensity of my growl. My hands balled up into fists and my lips curled back over my teeth. "A confrontation? Did Paul hurt you? I swear, if he did, I'll-" My soon-to-be rant was cut off by her lips on mine. My train of thought immediately went out the window as my hands found their way into her luscious locks, pulling her head closer. Her tongue ran across my bottom lip and I opened my mouth to allow her access, almost moaning out loud as she accepted.

The sound of a throat clearing broke us apart and I looked up sheepishly to see six very amused Cullens.

I turned my head back to Bella, enquiring look on my face. "What was that for?"

She smiled cheerily. "Have I ever told you how adorable you look when you get all protective?"

I chuckled slightly, eyes straying back down to her lips.

"Ahem, as much as I'd love for this to continue, and believe me, I would, but isn't this the second time that they have done something against Sam's wishes? He doesn't seem to have a lot of control over the wolves in his pack." Emmett said, looking between us curiously.

Bella shook her head at his statement. "It's not that, it's just that he doesn't want to take away their free will, which I sort of respect him for. A lot of other people would take advantage of that power. But even so, I still don't understand why he wouldn't stop Jacob from breaking the treaty, it is sort of important."

"He can't use the Alpha command with Jacob so far away and I'm guessing that Jacob isn't in his wolf form, so he can't speak to him mind-to-mind," Carlisle stated, standing up and heading over to the front door, the rest of us on his heels. Which involved extracting myself from the very comfortable Bella, something I did with great reluctance.

We all walked out on to the porch, now being able to hear the faint sound of a car engine in the distance. It was about four o' clock, the sun winding it's way through the clouds for once to illuminate the clearing that our house rested in.

"I swear Carlisle, if he doesn't have a damn good reason for being here, I'm gonna hurt him," Rosalie grumbled, her hard-ass demeanour ruined slightly by the dozing cat in her arms. I held back my smile at that scene and turned to face this new problem.

I had a sinking feeling that Jacob was coming here to tell Bella all about the reasons why she shouldn't be associating with vampires, how we were evil, vile beasts and how she'd be better off with him. The fact that I was automatically going down the route that said Jacob wanted Bella for himself didn't escape my notice. Vampires were possessive, sue me.

As if she knew where my thoughts were going, Bella stepped closer to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I did my best imitation of a limpet and attached myself to her side, absently wondering how I never noticed how cold I was before she came.

We waited like that on the porch for five minutes, long enough for Jacob to navigate the twists and turns that made up our driveway, and pull his simple, black truck up about thirty yards from our house. The scent of wet dog came next and I was amused to see my family surreptitiously edge closer to Bella, her fragrance doing wonders to drive away that horrid smell.

The wolf in the truck took a deep breath, then pushed open the door and stepped out. He glanced up at us briefly before walking around to the other door and letting out Billy, who waited patiently for his son to bring around his wheelchair. I had never seen the elder Black before, so I paid special attention to him now. He had long black hair like Jacob, with a kind, weathered face and the slightly robust frame that comes to an otherwise fit man with age.

Neither of them seemed comfortable, but for some reason, they didn't seem hostile either. In fact, Jacob seemed almost apologetic and his father looked confused.

"Jacob, for God's sakes, what is this about?" Billy hissed at him.

"I'll explain later, Dad, just go with me here," Jacob whispered back, despite knowing full well that we could hear him clearly.

"Hello Billy, Jacob," Carlisle said cordially, nodding to each of them in turn. "What brings you onto our land?"

Jacob visibly flinched at the gentle reminder that he had broken the treaty and was on our land, while Billy's expression grew sombre.

The young wolf cleared his throat nervously. "Look, I know that I broke the treaty by coming here, and I really am sorry about that, but I don't want any trouble, I just need to talk to Bella."

"So you just decided to waltz on over here?" Rosalie said, lip curled in disgust. "I'm curious, do you even understand the meaning of the word 'treaty', or did you think that it was only there to benefit you? That we had to stay here, but you had free run of the place. It exists for a reason, pup, and we both know that if this little episode were the other way around, you and yours wouldn't hesitate to kill us. So why should we spare you?"

Jacob almost visibly paled at her words. "Wait, I know what I did was wrong. I called Bella's house, but they said that she was here, and I was going to wait, I really was, but I just couldn't take not knowing. Then I was gonna call here, but my cell battery died and I was basically at the treaty line, so I just told Quil to get out of the car and I drove here because I just couldn't wait. I know that you're pissed, and you can punish me however you see fit after this, but I really need to talk to Bella. Also, my father has no idea what's going on."

After I absorbed his rant, I turned to look at Edward. He nodded once to show that Jacob was telling the truth, even though Billy's bewildered expression showed that anyway.

Bella chose that moment to step in. "Hi Jacob," she said cheerily, seemingly impervious to the tense atmosphere. She even waved a little. "Whatever you wanted must have been pretty important to bring you here, so tell me what it is and I'll see if I can help."

Her easy attitude seemed to put Jacob into a less tense mood, and my family soon followed. That is until Jacob looked straight at Bella, mouth opened to speak and Edward practically gasped. He spun in a circle and stared at her with an intense expression.

"Amazing," he breathed.

"Dude, what's with the staring?" She asked nervously. The rest of my family were looking between the two of them in abject curiosity.

He didn't say anything, just stepped back and gestured to Jacob, still looking at Bella with that intense look on his face.

A vicious hiss drew our attention to Rosalie, but it was the cat that had made the noise. He was practically sitting on her shoulder, tail puffed out and fur ruffled, teeth bared at Jacob. I had never seen Sanderson do anything but sit on people, so this new side of him was unusual. Not unexpected, Jacob was a dog after all, but still strange.

Rosalie began soothingly stroking his back until he settled back down into her arms, deep rumbling sounds still coming from his chest whenever he looked at the startled wolf. The vampire holding him, however, seemed smug. "Good kitty, growl at that nasty smelling dog," she cooed at him, no longer embarrassed about showing him affection now that he revealed a mutual dislike.

"Ah, sorry. He's not used to shifters," Bella mumbled, smiling sheepishly. She cleared her throat. "What was it you came for, Jacob?"

He stepped forward slowly, for all the world like he didn't want to upset the cat, and looked up at Bella. "I saw what you did for Seth. He could have died, probably would have, but you stopped that from happening and since then I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and what you might be able to do."

Confusion was still evident on all of our faces, but when Jacob looked back at his wheelchair-bound father, it clicked for both Bella and I. Apparently Edward was ahead of the both of us, judging from his fascinated expression.

"Oh," Bella said slowly. "You want me to…"

"He was in a car accident a few years ago, where my mom was killed and he was paralyzed from the waist down. I just needed to know if you can," Jacob murmured, regarding Bella with an almost painful expression of hope. Billy, realizing that he was being spoken about, seemed ready to say something, but thought better of it and remained quiet.

I glanced at my girlfriend, completely unashamed of the pleasant tingle that thought invoked, seeing her staring at Billy and Jacob in quiet contemplation. "I've never tried to do something like this before. It's such an old injury, I don't know if I can…"

Twisting his t-shirt hem between his fingers, Jacob walked back behind his father and pushed him forward. "Please, just try."

"Now wait just a minute. Someone please explain to me what is happening here," Billy demanded, regarding the assembled vampires cautiously.

Bella sighed and turned her head towards me. I nudged her in Jacob's direction, smiling supportively. To my family, I said "Just wait and see."

She walked down the porch steps and over to the two Quileute's. "Hello Mr Black, it's nice to meet you."

Billy didn't seem to know how to respond so he just nodded, waiting patiently for her to approach.

Her eyes met Jacobs. "I need to check if it's possible first, and it may not be, so you need to be prepared for that."

Her gaze went to Billy and she held her hand up. "Um, I'm gonna have to touch your head."

He waited for Jacob's affirmative pat on the shoulder before nodding at her slowly.

"Ok then, here goes." She gently placed her hand on his head and closed her eyes, holding completely still for an entire thirty long seconds before opening them again and smiling at Jacob. "It's possible alright."

His entire face lit up as his mouth curled into a delighted grin. "You can do it? Really?" Without waiting for an answer, he wrapped his huge arms around her and swept her off the ground into a bear-hug.

She laughed down at him, brown hair flying as he twirled. "Down boy, I haven't done it yet."

He put her down, grin firmly in place. "Sorry, I'm just…I mean…ah hell, I'd kiss you if I wasn't sure you wouldn't appreciate it." I almost growled at the mere thought, but a knowing look from Esme made me shut up.

Bella's face sobered suddenly as she seemed to think of something. "You know that this will cause problems. People will notice and you'll have to come up with a suitable explanation."

"I'm sure Carlisle can do something about that," Edward interjected, looking excited despite the annoyed looks we were receiving from them for not letting them into the loop.

"Think of what? You really must start explaining yourselves." Carlisle was a curious person by nature and this mystery must have been killing him.

"I second that," Billy grumbled, looking extremely put out at being the topic of a conversation he knew nothing about.

"Right, I'll get right on that." Bella crouched down and looked Jacob's father right in the eyes. "Billy, don't freak out." She placed her hands on his legs and again closed her eyes.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Dad, please just trust her. You won't regret it," Jacob said softly, looking on in expectation.

Having seen Bella heal before, I wasn't surprised when the blue lights surrounded her and Billy in a swirling sea of heavenly energy. Everyone else, minus Jacob, gasped in pure reflex at seeing something so beautiful. The lights twisted and danced soundlessly, like a flame caught in a strong wind just before it goes out. Then they focused onto the point where Billy's legs would be, gaining intensity until they were almost blinding. Then it was just…gone.

Bella slowly stood up and swayed slightly. My eyes widened and I ran to her, wrapping my arm around her waist. "Are you ok? You look exhausted."

She smiled down at me. "Alice, I'm fine, I've just never healed a wound that had already healed itself so long ago." She blinked and shook her head, looking back down at Billy.

I followed her line of sight and saw him sitting in his chair with an absolute awe-struck expression on his face. He swallowed once, his face a mask of shock as he regarded his legs.

His foot twitched.

There was utter silence in the clearing as Billy placed one foot on the ground, followed by the other, then stood up to his full height for the first time in years. Rapid blinking wasn't enough to stop the tear that made its way down his face. He just stood there, as though he just couldn't comprehend what was happening.

He brushed his hand across his face quickly and slowly took a single step forward.

"My God," Carlisle breathed, but I was too enraptured by the scene taking place before me to turn around.

A tremulous laugh escaped from Billy's lips as he continued walking, savouring every step as though he feared he might not be able to take another. He looked up at his son through wet eyes, only coming up to his shoulder, and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Still shorter than you, my boy." His voice almost cracked as he spoke.

Jacob wiped at his eyes impatiently. "You'll always be shorter than me, old man."

"How did you know that she could…that she could do this?" Billy gestured to his legs, which were tapping as though they never wanted to be still again. "I haven't used them in years, they should be weak as a new-born lambs, but I feel great, they feel strong."

Clearing his throat, Jacob grinned down at his father. "When Seth was attacked by Paul, his injuries were a lot more severe than we made it seem." He pointed at Bella. "She put her hands on his neck and those lights shone, and the next thing I know, Seth is up and hopping all over her. It was the damndest thing I've ever seen, but I didn't want anyone to tell you until I knew if she could do anything for you."

Billy started, as though only now remembering Bella. He snapped his head around and stared at her. That lasted for about ten seconds before he walked purposely over and pulled her into a bear-hug, lifting her off the ground much like his son had.

Bella chuckled at his exuberance. "Geeze, what is it today, is there a sign somewhere that says 'Bear-hug me'?"

He pulled away with a little sniffle, gazing at her with undisguised gratitude. "Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me." He laughed again. "God, when I woke up this morning, I had no idea that I'd be going to bed tonight with working legs!"

I couldn't help my own grin. Bella, my girlfriend, had just given this man back the gift of walking, a true and genuine miracle. I still wasn't quite sure what I had done to deserve her, but I had no intention of letting her go. Looking back at my family, I saw their expressions of awe and shock, none more so than Carlisle. For someone who had devoted his life to helping others, seeing something like this would be incredible.

"How is this possible? Mr Black's spinal cord was completely severed in the crash, there was absolutely no way that he would ever walk again." Carlisle walked forward, eyes locked onto Billy, before he switched them to Bella who had made her way back over to me as soon as the elder Black released her.

She opened her mouth to say something in response, but the sound of heavy running footsteps reached our ears and cut her off. I cocked my head to the side to hear better and realised that it was most likely the other wolves come to get Jacob and his father. The stench grew progressively worse as six horse-sized wolves burst from the tree line…only to skid to a stop in their tracks as they caught sight of Billy.

It was almost comical, seeing all of their furry, teeth-filled jaws collectively drop. Once again, there was dead silence in the clearing, with everyone waiting to see how they would react. I tightened my grip on Bella's waist, pulling her closer and waited.

"Well, this isn't awkward at all," Bella said, looking around at everybody with obvious interest. I couldn't help but smile at her lack of tension.

One of the wolves, with dark grey fur, let loose a low growl in her direction, eyes locked on her and teeth bared. I stiffened visibly, my own lips curling in response. The rest of my family moved in closer to the both of us in a protective stance. But it was the reaction of the remaining wolves that surprised me. The turned to the grey wolf and growled viciously at him, one of the lighter grey ones even snapping at him with its teeth.

I looked to the side and saw that Bella was smiling slightly. "Hey there Paul. How's the tail this morning?"

He gave her the wolf equivalent of a dirty look, raised his chin, turned around and left, growling all the while. As he was leaving, I caught sight of his tail and had to immediately press my face into Bella's shoulder to keep from laughing out loud. Rosalie and Emmett didn't share my idea and the sounds of their snickers followed Paul as he left.

The fur on his tail, as well as a large portion of his hindquarters was almost completely gone, with only a little stubble left. It looked absolutely ridiculous.

I whipped my head around to stare at Bella with wide eyes. "You _didn't_?"

She grinned rakishly, obviously not in the least bit sorry.

Emmett boomed out another laugh. "You did that?" She nodded. "Awesome! Geeze, between whatever the hell you did to him and healing Billy, you have a whole bag full of tricks."

Five wolf heads simultaneously shifted to Bella, then to Billy, then back again. It was like a game of tennis.

Jacob cleared his throat. "Um, maybe you guys should shift back?"

I had seen Sam, their Alpha, in his wolf form, so I knew that he was the black one that nodded. They turned around slowly, most of them still staring at the newly mobile Billy, and disappeared back into the woods. We waited for a minute as the sounds of rustling clothes reached our ears, then five Quileute's walked out, each wearing cut-off denim shorts, except the only female, who was also wearing a t-shirt.

They immediately crowded around Billy, looking him up and down like they couldn't believe their eyes.

"Billy, you're…," Sam's voice trailed off as he clapped Jacob's father on the shoulder, still having to look down on him.

"Walking tall?" Billy inquired, smiling hugely. The tears that he had in his eyes hadn't fully dried yet, but he was no longer outright crying. Considering how quickly everything had happened, I knew that it hadn't even really hit him yet and he would most likely be in shock until he got home. Then the real waterworks would start.

The youngest of the wolves snorted. "Well, I wouldn't say 'tall', Mr B, but you got that walking thing down."

Billy smacked him on the shoulder. "Hey, respect your elders young'un."

The boy, who looked like a really beefy fifteen year old, held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'm respecting, I swear. Seriously Mr B, congrats."

"As much as I hate to break up this love-fest, which is not at all, I was just wondering if the whole damn lot of you have forgotten about that pesky little treaty we have," Rosalie said with forced nonchalance, looking about as pissed off as the puffed up cat in her arms. Sanderson, bless his poor soul, looked like his worst nightmare had just come true and he was subsequently burrowing further into my sisters arms. Even Rosalie wasn't unaffected by what she had just witnessed, but when she was surprised, she usually reverted to bitchiness unless she was surrounded by family.

Sam winced. "Oh, crap, right. I'm sorry for coming here, but we just needed to get Jacob off your land and ask him what the hell he was thinking." His eyes strayed to Billy and over to Bella, where they stayed. "I guess we know what that was."

"And you all needed to shift into your wolf form to do that?" She continued.

"Well, it was faster than a car and we had hoped to get here before anything happened."

Carlisle walked forward. "In all honesty, I don't hold anything against Jacob. Yes, I would have preferred him to wait, but I can understand where he was coming from. No harm, no foul."

Rosalie scoffed in disgust. "Of course, just let them get away with it." Sanderson seconded her statement with a hiss in the general direction of Jacob. I really needed to separate those two, it was becoming eerie.

Sam glanced at my sister, then decided that Carlisle was a better bet. "Thank you for understanding. We thought that Jacob would wait as well, not to mention the fact that we didn't even think that it would work. Which it obviously has." He looked over at Bella. "I guess once again we owe you our thanks."

To my surprise, Bella blushed slightly. "It's no problem. To be honest, I didn't even know I could heal such an old scar."

Sam's reaction to this surprised me. He looked like a light bulb had gone off in his head and his eyes rounded. "Scars, you can heal scars?"

Bella cocked her head to the side slightly. "Why do I get the feeling that you're gonna ask me to do something?"

He ran a hand over his jaw, eyes downcast in obvious shame. "It's my imprint, Emily. A year ago, when I first started shifting, I had an accident and she was hurt. It left some pretty serious scars on her face. She keeps telling me not to blame myself, that she's learning to live with it, but I can tell it bothers her. I know I don't have any right to ask you, but…" He peeked up at her from under his lashes, looking almost like a little boy.

Bella sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Of course I'll help, but you'll have the same problem as Billy. People will notice if her scars just disappear."

"You could always send her somewhere for a while and say she's getting surgery done," Jasper offered, back to his normal stoic self now that he had time to adjust to the miracle of seeing Billy walking again.

"Hm." Carlisle tapped his finger against his chin in thought. "Facial scar removal is effective, but it doesn't get rid of the scar completely. The use of lasers can only make rough scars smoother, and skin grafts still leave behind some scarring."

"Yeah, but not a lot of people know that. We can send her away for a couple of months and when she gets back, just say that the scars are so small that you can't see them unless you look real close. Then, if people ask to, or just ask questions, Emily can say that she'd just like to put it all behind her. Who'd know the difference?" This came from one of the other wolves, most likely Embry.

"Her doctor would," Emmett put in.

Billy held up a finger. "Ah, that's not going to be a problem. Her doctor is Jason Ayers; he's on the tribal council and knows all about our tribes shifting abilities. He's my doctor too, and neither Emily nor I know any others, present company excluded. No one else would know enough about it to question it."

Carlisle nodded slowly. "That could work. He could also help with the façade of your rehab." He looked at Bella. "Although you would have to explain how it happened in the first place."

Bella shifted beside me, uncomfortable expression on her face. "I know that at this point, it wouldn't make much of a difference, but I'd still like to keep the number of people who know about me to a minimum."

Several of the wolves looked down at their shoes, some clearing their throats nervously.

"Um, well…" Jacob trailed off.

Bella narrowed her eyes. "You didn't?" More feet shuffling. "How many?"

"The entire tribal council," Billy stated slowly.

"And, um, the parents who have children who shift," Jacob continued.

"And our imprints," Sam mumbled.

"Oh, and Uncle Larry who owns the surf shop," the youngest wolf, who I'm guessing was Seth, put in.

Bella groaned in frustration. "Great. Why don't I just put out a freaking news bulletin?"

"Um, sorry?" Seth's apology came out more like a question and Bella's lips quirked slightly in response.

"Whatever, can't do anything about that now I suppose," she sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

I couldn't help but frown slightly at that. Healing Billy must have taken more out of her than she had let on. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired." An impressive yawn followed her statement, complete with arm stretching and back arching, not to mention causing more than one appreciative glance from the assembled Quileute's.

"Is there anything else you needed, or..?" I asked sweetly, wrapping my arm more firmly around her waist, in a gesture they couldn't ignore, or misinterpret. They got the message, if the widened eyes all around and the two crestfallen expressions on Jacob's and Seth's faces were anything to go by.

"No, I guess there's not." Billy walked back to his chair, looking at it silently for a few moments before picking it up and putting it in the truck. "Bella, I'd like to thank you again for what you did, it changed my life."

Jacob grinned at her. "Me too. And I know that it was wrong coming over here, but considering the way it turned out, I can't be sorry." This last was directed at my parents, and he sounded sincere.

As Billy and his son piled back into the truck, the rest of them said their goodbyes, mainly at Bella because they were still wary of us. Sam, however, waited until the rest of them had left and was still standing at the forests edge, looking uncertain, when Bella smiled at him.

"I'll heal her, Sam. Just give me a time and place."

Sam gave her a grateful look. "Thank you." He finally turned and headed into the woods, the sounds of his steps soon changing into heavier, louder versions as he shifted.

No one spoke for several minutes, just absorbing everything that had happened.

"Well, that sure was interesting," Bella drawled, paying specific attention to a squirrel that was perched on one of the far-off branches, nibbling on a nut with tiny, precise movements.

Edward shook his head. "You can sure say that again."

None of my family members had taken their eyes off of Bella since the wolves left, only Sanderson was paying no attention, instead having his head burrowed into Rosalie's shoulder in a fitful doze, wolves forgotten. Our talk had taken about a half an hour, start to finish and the sun was still high in the sky, shooting random shafts of light through the patchwork of clouds.

"Bella, don't take this the wrong way, because I actually like you, but what in the hell are you?"

"Rosalie!" Esme admonished, shooting an apologetic glance at the girl beside me.

"No, she's right Esme, it's not exactly a secret anymore and keeping you in what little shade there is left is sort of pointless now."

Carlisle immediately perked up at this, looking like an eager puppy staring at the biscuit tin. He put his hands in his pockets, then took them back out, crossing his arms only to uncross them a moment later. He was fidgeting, that meant he was fighting curiosity. "Does that mean that you intend to tell us what you are?"

Bella shrugged. "Sure, why not, everybody else seems to know." She looked down at me and I smiled back, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss her. Unfortunately, neither of us seemed to know that it was meant to be a peck, because it was about twenty seconds later when we were broken apart by yet another throat clearing. Both of us looked up sheepishly, Bella's cheeks turning an appealing shade of pink.

"Maybe we should just record that sound and play it on repeat," Emmett suggested, looking between the two of us curiously.

"Ahem, sorry," Bella mumbled, eyes straying down to my lips before she jerked them back up to my family. "So, you want me to tell you or show you?" Her voice was slightly tense, but nothing like last night when she was telling me.

Jasper's brows furrowed. "I'm going for showing."

Emmett raised a hand. "I second that."

Edward, Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie all nodded at her and she sighed, pulling away from me and walking closer to the centre of the clearing.

This time, she didn't bother leaving any time between taking off the ring and unfurling her wings, instead opting to do them both simultaneously. Much like the healing, having seen it before, I was the only one whose eyes didn't widen when the blue lights appeared, or gasp when they flowed together to form two shapes. A second before her wings materialized, her glamour dropped, hair and skin paling, eyes turning a silvery-blue, body becoming perfectly refined and facial features smoothing out into perfection. When the two great wings did finally form, held out slightly from her back like a bird of prey, the clearing was more silent than I've ever heard it. No one spoke, no one moved, not even me. And that was because I had never seen Bella in the sunlight.

Her skin's luminescent quality was less pronounced than in the moonlight, but she still gave off a faint shine. Her eyes sparkled like twin sapphires of the highest quality and the light brought out the silver tints in her wings. But that wasn't what had me staring. A shaft of light had chosen that moment to illuminate a patch of the clearing, mainly Bella, causing her to look up with a look of mild bewilderment on her face. It hit her hair and somehow reflected off of it in a way that probably shouldn't have been possible, but the effect it gave looked exactly like a-

"Is that a halo?" My voice was the first to break the deafening silence and it sounded sort of confused. The light had made a sort of circular, glowing effect atop Bella's head. It wasn't as pronounced as it was on TV, or in pictures of angels, but it was still there, in an understated, gorgeous sort of way. Even though I had seen her like this before, I was still stunned by the sheer otherworldliness of her.

Her eyes rolled up as she tried to look at the crown of her head. "Yeah, it's just how the lights reflect or something. It only happens in direct sunlight and not at all if I wear a hat." Her tone of voice showed that she was slightly embarrassed by it. Her tone of voice also caused my family to jerk slightly, not that I blamed them. Today seemed to be a day of wide-eyed speechlessness, even the loud Emmett and the ever stoic Jasper looked like black moor goldfish.

Bella fluffed her wings slightly and ran her hand through her hair, eyes on her shoes. She looked so nervous that I couldn't help but go over to her, entwining my fingers through hers in a show of moral support. She smiled down at me, eyes taking in my sparkling form with avid interest and I tucked myself into her side as she folded her wings across her back. "It looks good on you," I commented, then chuckled. "But then again, what wouldn't?"

"A potato sack?" She inquired.

I cocked my head to the side, gaze roaming up and down her body. "Nope. I'm fairly certain if you wore a potato sack, you'd start a trend. They'd have you up on that runway in a second. "

"Oh Lord, the life of a model wouldn't suit me at all."

"Why not? You're gorgeous and you eat about as much as a peckish field mouse, you'd fit right in. Besides, Victoria's Secret has that angel exhibit with that white underwear and the fake wings." I paused, images of Bella in underwear flashing before my eyes. "My mind just went to a very happy place."

She made a mock-disgusted sound. "For God's sake, Alice, get your mind out of the gutter."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Oh don't act like you've never taken a trip there yourself."

"But Alice, I'm an angel, a pillar of moral standing and righteousness, defender of the weak, protector of the innocent, lover of tiny fuzzy creatures. I would never do such a thing," she deadpanned.

I scoffed, taking in the twinkle in her deep blue eyes. "Sure, and I haven't caught you staring at my ass before."

She blinked. "…you noticed that, huh?"

In our easy bantering we seemed to have forgotten my shell-shocked family and were soon reminded of that fact when Emmett let an almost silent "Dude" escape. We turned in unison to face them, finding them in the same positions they had been in moments before. Only Sanderson had shifted, flipping onto his back in Rosalie's arms, paws tucked into his chest and tail stretched out to its full length.

Carlisle opened his mouth, but no sound came out so he closed it again. He made two more attempts before aborting speech altogether and settling for vague and slightly erratic hand gestures. Being a devout man of God, this would be slightly…ground-breaking for him. Thankfully he wasn't human or he would have had a heart attack by now.

"Um, maybe we should all go in and sit down?" I suggested, trying to break Carlisle out of his state.

It worked, as he let out a tiny 'yes'. Bella and I walked up the steps, walking past my family, who caught Bella's enhanced scent and took a round of involuntary, deep breaths. We made our way silently into the living room, everyone else taking their seats. Bella remained standing for a few moments, long enough to dematerialise her wings. She then sat down on the armchair she had used before and I happily climbed into her lap, sighing in contentment as she wrapped her arms around me.

I idly played with her white hair, marvelling at its texture, as my family stared holes in her forehead. Now that she was out of the direct sunlight, her halo had disappeared, but the faint glow of her skin still remained.

She cleared her throat. "Ok, so, I'm an angel. Any questions?"

I almost laughed at the bluntness of it and I was fast discovering that bluntness was one of her traits.

Carlisle shook his head and visibly pulled himself together." A f…ahem, a few." His voice took on a slightly reverent tone. "Where do you come from?"

"Not a friggin' clue."

He seemed taken aback by her answer and even I was surprised, but only because hearing her say 'friggin'' in that voice was strange.

Jasper leaned forward, arms on his knees. "You don't know?"

She shook her head. "Not really, no. My family were out hunting one night, they saw what they thought was a comet and went to check it out. Infant me was there. Sort of like Superman but without the spaceship."

It was silent as they absorbed this, the sound of the ticking clock even louder than normal.

"So you fell from the sky?" Rosalie asked, keeping up a gentle petting motion on the cat.

"Essentially. In the grand scheme of things, I know as much about where I came from as you do."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

Bella shrugged. "Sure, but since I can't exactly look up my birth parents on the internet to find out more, I've decided not to worry about it."

"Wow, you're so non-broody. Is that an angel thing or can anyone learn it, like maybe Edward?" Emmett usually used humour to relieve tense situations and he was falling back on that now.

We all turned to the man in question. He had a deeply pensive look on his face as he gazed at Bella. "Why are you here?"

Bella raised both of her eyebrows in query. "Here in this room? In America? In existence?"

"In here with us?" He clarified.

"Well, I am dating one of you and I thought that I should meet her family."

"No, I mean, we're vampires, you're an a…an angel. Why would you bother with us?"

Out of all of us, Edward was the one who believed we were soulless monsters the most. He had been a deeply religious person, even as a human teenager and his fear that God had turned His back on him had been a point of deep pain for him.

Bella absently ran her fingers over my arm in a gentle, sloping pattern, leaving tingles and a faint glow behind before it faded. I watched it in fascination, savouring the warmth she exuded.

"I can't tell you anything about the bigger picture when it comes to souls or anything, I don't have a hotline to God, but I personally believe that the fact that you feel emotions and choose the life you have, indicates the presence of a soul. I mean, I love my family and they love me and I've never questioned their moral standards just because they're vampires. Besides, did I mention I'm very fond of one of you?"

My lips twitched into a smile and I lay my head on her shoulder, curling up contentedly. Her questing fingers moved up to my neck, continuing with their patterns and I felt a deep purr rumbling in my chest. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sanderson jerk his head up and stare at me for several moments before laying his head back down on Rosalie's shoulder.

"This is…amazing," Carlisle breathed. "Do you have any idea what this means? It shows the presence of a higher power, something above all of us." His eyes were practically glowing, but Bella appeared uncomfortable.

"Well," she said slowly, "Maybe not."

He looked at her in confusion. "How can it not? You yourself are proof."

She shifted underneath me, breathing deeply. "I've never really thought of myself in the terms most humans think of angels. I've always, on some level, assumed that most of it was hype."

"Hype?" Edward had leaned back into Jasper, who had wrapped his arm around his mate.

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, a lot of the myths about vampires are just plain crap. What if, back a couple thousand years ago, some humans saw a few of my kind doing something heroic, and because of the way we look, just associated us with a higher power. Then, when religion began playing a more important role in human society, the rumours about us just snowballed from there, until we were messengers from on high, sent to guide humanity. There's ample evidence of humans revering things they don't understand, maybe angels are one of them." I watched as Carlisle face took on a thoughtful expression. "That's not to say I don't believe in a God, because we had to have come from somewhere, but I just can't think of myself as a divine being. I'm just…Bella."

Placing my hand on her cheek, I turned her to face me. "I don't think you could ever be _just _Bella."

A grin lit up her face, quickly followed by a yawn. "Sorry, I'm just a little beat."

"Why don't you come upstairs and take a nap?"

One white, perfectly formed eyebrow arched slightly. "Just a nap, huh?"

"Oh, shush," I laughed, smacking her arm lightly. I glanced at my family. "You guys should probably take this time to go over the many shocks you got today." They nodded absently, and I hopped up, pulling Bella up the stairs behind me.

I carefully closed the door behind us, leaving a small gap open and turned, only to be met with soft lips on my own. Unlike the last two, this one was tender, almost chaste, made more so by her gentle hand on my cheek. We stayed that way for a few minutes, kissing just inside my door, before I remembered the reason we had come up here in the first place.

I pulled away slowly, after one more quick kiss, chuckling at Bella's sound of protest. "Come on now, you're tired and you need to get some sleep."

"Only if you promise to stay with me." I shivered as her hot breath fanned over the back of my neck.

"Just try and keep me away," I replied, kicking off my shoes and crawling onto the high bed and stretching out, getting more than a little thrill at knowing Bella's eyes were on me.

Two small thumps were heard as she pulled off her own shoes, then the bed depressed a bit as her slight weight was added. She lay down beside me and I turned over, looking into her hooded, deep blue eyes. It still came as a surprise sometimes, just how beautiful she was, and I suspected it always would.

"So, what did you think of everything that happened today?"

"I like your family, they're nice." Her voice was soft, the musical notes washing over me.

"They like you too, but then again, how can they not?"

We had been edging closer and now Bella placed her hand on my arm, curious fingers once again picking up their patterns.

"I hope they'll be okay with all of this."

"They will be, trust me. I can see the future after all."

She let out a quiet laugh. "Well, you won't catch me betting against you."

"I also hope you know that they'll have a million questions for you tomorrow when the shock wears off."

"I can deal with questions."

All was silent for a few moments, Bella's breathing becoming slightly slower. However, I had one more question for her.

"Speaking of tomorrow, our relationship will be a pretty big deal, I don't think Forks has ever had a same-sex relationship before. Will you be okay with that?"

Her eyes, which had closed, opened slowly. "I know. I also know that I don't care what they think. I'm lucky to have found someone like you and if they have a problem with that, they can collectively kiss my ass."

"That's good. Now I can openly tell Mike off for his constant hitting on you." I snuggled closer and placed my head on her shoulder, her arms coming around me in a warm cocoon.

She hummed sleepily. "I'll warn you in advance, he's a persistent guy."

"And I'm a possessive girl." Her cheek was pressed against my head, so I could feel it when she smiled. A purr started in my chest and almost simultaneously, her breathing evened out as she fell asleep, grip tightening unconsciously.

Tiny footsteps sounded outside my door, before it was pushed open by what I'm guessing was Sanderson. He walked over and hopped up on the bed, looking at me warily like I had stolen his spot beside Bella. I merely smiled at him and he crawled over to his owner, not even bothering to turn around or knead the bed to get comfortable, just flopping against the both of us and going out like a light, purring deeply.

I knew that tomorrow was going to be an interesting experience, but I was determined to enjoy this moment, curled up beside Bella in my bed, listening to her heartbeat as she slept.

**A/N: Okay, that came out quicker than I thought it would. I was terribly amused by the amount of reviewers who thought Jacob was coming to do something jerky. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and now that I only have one test left, I should be updating more frequently.**

**R&R.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: And we have a new update. I've been thinking of making my chapters slightly shorter to speed up updates, but if you still want the long, slow ones, just tell me. **

**Tytus: Told you so…you didn't think I could do it, but I showed you!**

**Disclaimer: I've realised that my last chapter (or last few) didn't have a disclaimer on it, so I'm just going to say I own nothing, nor will I ever own anything, just in case I forget again.**

BPOV

It smelled nice.

That was the first thought that wound its way through the fog of my mind and into my consciousness. It was a subtle scent, yet powerful. Like one of those fine perfumes that cost about as much as a plasma screen TV for a bottle the size of a baby field mouse.

The second thing I noticed was how darn comfortable I was. It wasn't any specific thing that made it comfortable, but a myriad of smaller things. For one, the bed was soft and fresh. Two, I could feel Sanderson, always there when I slept, curled up beside me. Three, the pillow I was resting on was oddly hard and cold, yet still adding to the overall pleasure of my situation.

Blinking my eyes open, I took in my surroundings. The light coloured, sketch covered walls, the open walk-in closet that contained enough outfits to clothe a small army, the dressing table atop which sat a yellow rose wrought from fine glass.

Upon taking in all of these things, I came to the brilliant conclusion that I wasn't in my own room. That was probably what spurred me towards consciousness, because I knew for a fact that my own pillow at home was fluffy. It also didn't move.

"Hey there sleepyhead, I thought you'd never wake up," a chime-like voice whispered in my ear.

Now, waking up in a strange bed with a stranger would have freaked me the hell out, but thankfully, I remembered the events of yesterday. Meeting Alice's family, kissing Alice, watching movies, the Quileute's, kissing Alice, healing Billy, promising Sam that I'd heal his mate, telling the Cullen's about me, more kissing Alice, falling asleep in Alice's bed. With Alice.

I lifted my head up and met twinkling golden eyes, framed by spiky black hair and pale skin. "Um, hi?"

Her tinkling laughter washed over me and I couldn't help but smile in return. She reached out a finger and brushed a lock of hair off of my face, tucking it behind my ear. "Hi."

I didn't notice for several more seconds that I had both arms wrapped around her waist and had been using her shoulder as a pillow. "Oh, God, sorry." I carefully extracted myself from around her, managing to avoid squishing Sanderson in the process. I did uproot him from his spot, prompting him to give an indignant meow and hop off the bed, making his way downstairs while his displeasure was made known. Loudly.

"Don't apologise, Bella, I rather enjoyed myself last night." She had a smirk on her face and I was reminded forcefully that I had a nasty habit of talking in my sleep.

I flopped onto my back and groaned. "What did I say?"

"Say? Why, whatever do you mean?" Her face was a picture of devastating innocence.

"Please put me out of my misery and at least tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing?"

Her smirk widened. She tipped her head to the side and said in a passable imitation of my human voice, "Alice, oh Alice, _kiss _me, Alice."

I'm pretty sure my face turned beet red at that point. "I didn't," I gasped, mortified beyond imagining.

This time her laughter was full bodied and thoroughly amused. "Nope." She leant forward and gave me a peck on the lips. "I just love making you blush." She jumped off the bed and walked over to her closet. "Now get up or we'll be late for school."

I huffed. "That was mean, you really- wait, what do you mean 'late for school'?"

She nodded towards the clock on her wall, the one that read eight o'clock. I bolted upright. "Holy Mother! How long did I sleep?"

She shrugged. "About fifteen hours."

I just sat there, gaping. I hadn't slept in a good while, and I had been pretty wiped after healing Billy, but I didn't think I had been _that _tired. Then another thought occurred to me.

"Oh, Alice, you didn't sit here for fifteen hours doing nothing, did you? It was supposed to be a nap, you should have woken me. I'm really sorry."

She flitted over to me and took my hands in hers. "Bella, really, I didn't mind at all. As for the waking you up, you looked exhausted and I thought I should let you sleep. I also called your family to let them know you'd be staying over and they said that you should sleep too." She frowned. "Although, I'm curious, do you always get that tired after healing something, because you were fine when you healed that rabbit?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, thankful that it doesn't muss when I sleep, thus saving myself from Alice seeing me with bed-head. "Supernatural beings are tough to heal and I get a bit tired afterwards, but usually with humans or animals, I'm fine."

"Then what happened?"

"I guess it was because it was such an old injury. Healing a fresh one means re-knitting torn flesh and putting things back where they're supposed to be, but this was already healed, with scar tissue and everything. I had to get rid of that, then let his spinal cord reattach, not to mention fixing his atrophied leg muscles so he could actually use his legs. I've never done it before, so it took a lot of effort."

"Well, it was a pretty impressive thing you did."

"Yeah, I just hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass." I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching.

"How so?" Alice asked, voice full of curiosity.

"Well, what if another one of them gets hurt and they all keep coming to me for help? I mean, I'd want to help them, and I probably would, but I really don't want this getting out to any more people."

"But you told my family without any preamble."

I scratched the back of my neck as I thought. I had spent a long time deciding on whether or not I should tell Alice's family about me and it all depended on what I saw when I came over yesterday. I may not have had my mom's ability, but I was still a good judge of character, something that had never once failed me, and I trusted Alice. If she thought her family could know, then they could.

"Well, it wasn't a spur of the moment thing, I thought a lot about it first. You see, the main problem I have with vampires finding out, is that they would know that there was something else out there and might tell the Volturi. However, from the first moment you met me, you knew that I wasn't human, vampire or shifter, so therefore, I was something else. At that point, the damage was done, and could only be solved by us killing you, which is just crazy. Me trying to keep what I was from you after that was futile, but I did it anyway because I've never _told_ anyone before and it was a habit. Telling you was necessary, because I wanted to be in a relationship with you and it wouldn't have been fair to keep you in the dark."

I took a breath to continue. "Now, your family, I hadn't met, so I was still reluctant for you to tell them until I had met them and got a feel for them. But even then, _they _had no reason to trust _me._ They knew I was different, but not what I was. I could have been a danger to them, or to you, so by putting a name to what I am, I don't really do any damage to myself that hadn't already been done on our first meeting, but I do put them at ease that I don't mean you any harm, thus preventing them from going to the Volturi out of fear. Besides, I figure if any of you had intended to go to the Volturi, then you would have gone when you first met me." I crossed my arms and nodded. "Did that entire rant make any sense?"

Alice took on a thoughtful expression. "Yes, yes it did. So if we didn't know that you were anything other than human when we first met you, would you have told us by now?"

"Most likely not. I mean, I would have been drawn to you either way, so I would have told you eventually, but definitely not so soon because if I chose to, I could have just pretended to be a human and you wouldn't have known."

Alice nodded slowly. "I can see your point." She glanced at the clock and jerked. "Oh, sorry, we have to get ready for school or we're _really _going to be late." Flitting into her closet, she came back out with jeans and a dark blue shirt and tossed them to me. "Here, these should fit you. The shower's down the hall."

I caught the clothes. "But, I…"

"Quickly now, go, go, go."

She shooed me into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I stood there for a few moments in silence, contemplating the fact that I had visited Alice's house once, and had ended up staying the night in her bed cuddling with her, using her shower in the morning and wearing her clothes to school. A sigh escaped my lips. Jesse was going to have a field day with this one.

By the time I had washed myself, thoroughly amused to see that Alice used a brand called 'Sudsy Soapy Shower Scrub', and gotten dressed in the clothes she had provided, she was back knocking at the door.

"Bella, Esme wants to know what you want for breakfast," she called.

I opened my mouth to tell her that she didn't have to go to all this trouble, when she spoke again.

"And before you tell me that it's too much trouble, you should know that Esme is terribly excited to be cooking something and is currently standing beside the oven, with a skillet in one hand and some kind of kitchen utensil in the other."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, given the mental image in my head, so I walked over to the door and opened it. Alice stood outside, hands clasped behind her back, rocking on her heels like an idle child.

Eyes widening as she saw me, she stopped rocking. "You're all wet."

Now, I don't consider my mind to be a particularly dirty one, but for some reason, it went straight to 'Inappropriate Land' at that otherwise innocent statement. The choking laugh from downstairs didn't exactly help my quickly spreading blush.

"I, um, meant your hair! It's still wet, because you were just in the shower, where there's water, which…wets…people…" She face-palmed and let out a low groan. "_That _was intelligent. Water wets people, way to go Alice."

"Well, at least it's true."

Her lower lip puffed out in the most adorable pout I've ever seen, and I couldn't resist catching it between my teeth and tugging on it gently before pulling her in for a deeper kiss. Humming happily against her, I felt my hair dry out almost instantly from the heat and reluctantly pulled away. "I'm really beginning to enjoy that way too much."

"It's not exactly a chore for me either," she mumbled. "What was it you wanted for breakfast?" Her eyes took in my newly-dried hair and her smile became a bit smug, no doubt because she knew exactly _why_ it was dry.

I shrugged. "I've always liked pancakes."

"Ok, dear," Esme called from downstairs. The sounds of eggs cracking and rapid whisking soon followed and I smiled at the excited sound of her voice.

After making a quick detour into Alice's room to pull on my shoes, we made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen. The first thing I noticed was Sanderson with his face in a little dish full of milk, the second was the assortment of Cullen's gathered in the kitchen, watching Esme with varying shades of interest. Their attention was automatically switched to me as I walked in and perched on the chair beside Emmett.

Over the last fifteen hours, they seemed to have mellowed out a little and had gotten used to the fact that they had an angel under their roof. Now, as opposed to shocked speechlessness, they just seemed extremely curious. Yay.

"Good morning, Bella. Your pancakes will be done in just a moment," Esme said, flipping one deftly.

"Thank you Esme, it smells great." I blushed slightly. "Sorry for conking out on you guys last night."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Carlisle said, looking up at me from where he had been watching Sanderson. "When we called your parents to inform them that you would be staying here for the night, they told us that healing is strenuous for you."

"Occasionally, yes."

"Besides, I'm sure Alice didn't mind," Emmett stated, grinning madly. "And from the things you were saying, I'm guessing you didn't either."

And the blush was back. "Wh…what do you mean by that? What did I say?"

"Oh, it's nothing that you should be concerned about."

"Bu…wha…ack," I stuttered, looking at Alice beseechingly, only to be met with a cheery smile.

"Now, now, leave the poor girl alone," Esme said, placing a plate of pancakes down in front of me. "Would you like some juice? Tea? Milk?"

I forcefully pushed thoughts of embarrassing mumblings out of my mind and chose instead to savour the smell of freshly cooked pancakes. "Juice is fine, thank you."

She went to the fridge to get me my drink and I cut off a corner and placed it in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. She seemed to have taken after my mother, in that she had been a vampire for decades, yet could still cook like some kind of chef equivalent of Jesus.

"How is it? I haven't cooked in an awfully long time." Esme placed a glass of apple juice in front of me, glancing at me apprehensively.

"It's fantastic," I told her enthusiastically, meaning every word of it as I scooped up another forkful.

She smiled at me in obvious relief, moving over to sit beside her husband. Normally, one would feel awkward sitting in a room eating breakfast with a bunch of people who couldn't eat, but I had plenty of experience.

"What's it taste like?" Alice asked, watching me with avid fascination.

"Pancakes," I said, taking another bite. I was always hungry after healing, and I hadn't eaten for fifteen hours since healing Billy.

"Why thank you, Bella, that answer was a great help," Alice deadpanned.

I took a sip of my juice. "Well, I can only explain how a food tastes in relation to other foods, and I've never tasted blood, so I don't really know how to explain it." A thought struck me and I grinned. "Here, why don't you try a piece?"

She looked intensely at my fork for a few moments, nose twitching as she scented the air, then leaned over and closed her teeth around the proffered food.

"Ewww," Emmett groaned, his mates face mirroring the sentiment.

I watched in amusement as Alice's face went from curious, to regretful, to downright disgusted in a matter of moments.

"Ack! How on Earth does that taste good to you?"

I shrugged and ate another chunk. "The same way blood tastes good to you, we all have our own tastes."

"A person would have to have no sense of taste for that to be good," she insisted.

I smiled and finished the last bite of pancake, chasing it down with the last of my juice. "Thank you, Esme that was fantastic."

She smiled once again and looked at my empty plate. "Are you sure you don't want some more, I have plenty of pancake mix?" She gestured behind her towards the counter. I looked over her shoulder and immediately groaned.

"Um, mom, no you don't," Emmett mumbled. When she turned to look at him, he pointed to the counter, where Sanderson had decided pancake batter would make a nice second course.

We stared for a few moments at the cat, his front paws resting on the edge of the mixing bowl, his entire head and shoulders foraging its depths.

I sighed. "You've never had cats before, have you?"

She opened her mouth to reply when my phone chose that moment to ring. Glancing down at my happily vibrating pocket, I pulled it out and pressed the answer button.

"Hello?"

"_Mornin' Bella._" Jesse sounded awfully chipper.

"Good morning Jesse. Dare I ask why you're calling?"

"_Oh, nothing important. Just to tell you that we'll bring your stuff to school so you don't have to swing by and be late."_

"Thanks."

"_So, have a nice night?"_

I narrowed my eyes, fully aware that the Cullen's could hear me. "Yeah, it was fine."

"_Only fine? Reeeeally?"_

"Don't even go there, Jesse. Nothing happened." I could feel my blush spreading and getting deeper and I desperately wanted this phone call to be over.

Her tone changed drastically from teasing to intensely relieved. _"Oh thank God. Dad spent the entire night pacing, I swear he was on the verge of running over there and stealing you back."_

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said dryly.

"_We knew you weren't going to do anything, but you know Micheal, he's convinced everybody with a libido is trying to get at you. He's just being a father."_

"Okay then. Oh, by the way, in case you're wondering where Sanderson is, he followed me to the Cullen's house."

"_Huh, I was wondering where that little monster went. Wait, is that him I hear slurping on something?"_

"Yes."

"_Let me guess, pancake batter?"_

"He has a problem. I'll see you in school."

"_Later."_

We hung up in unison and I peeked at Alice from under my lashes, seeing her expression of intense amusement.

"Yeah, you're laughing now, but you won't be when dad takes you aside to have a little chat with you about boundaries." I took great pleasure in seeing the smug smile slide off her face.

"You do know that unless we leave right now, we'll be late," Jasper stated, standing up.

"Being late for something we've done a thousand times before?" Rosalie asked with obvious sarcasm. "Perish the thought!"

Emmett pouted. "But I didn't get to ask Bella any questions."

That was true, they had let me enjoy my breakfast without pestering me in the least, despite how curious they must be.

"Well, you guys could always swing by my place tonight, I know that my family have been dying to meet you, despite appearances," I suggested. Now that they knew, we had no reason not to have an introductory meeting between the two families. Also, they were bound to be anxious now that I had told the Cullen's, and letting Clare 'scan' them would really put them at ease.

A delighted smile spread across Carlisle's face. "That's a marvellous idea. Vegetarian vampire covens are a rare occurrence, it would be a pleasure to meet another." Alice tugged on my hand slightly and made her way over to the door, waiting for me.

"And they'd definitely enjoy meeting you." I stood up from my seat and regarded my cat. "Um, Esme?"

"Yes dear?"

"Would you mind if Sanderson hung out here for a little while and could you maybe bring him with you when you come over tonight?"

She looked over at the cat, who was sprawled on top of the counter beside the mixing bowl, one paw resting on it lazily. "Of course. He'll be nice company."

I walked backwards with the Cullen teens, heading towards the garage. "Thanks, and if he tries to sit on your face, it just means he likes you."

I said my goodbyes and followed Alice out the door connecting with the garage. As I went, I pulled my ring out of the pocket I had put it into, and slipped it on. The familiar tingle swept over me and I resigned myself to another day of feeling like I was surrounded my bees. Alice looked over at me and her eyes widened slightly. I guess I should probably tell her when I was going to change my whole appearance.

The garage was big, full expensive cars and on the far side, there appeared to be a work shop, with various types of equipment lined up along its shelves, as well as spare parts littering the tables. I looked around curiously as Rosalie and Emmett got into a red Mercedes, although the exact type eluded me. Cars were not where my interest lay.

Alice took my hand again and pulled me over to a silver Volvo, which Jasper and Edward were already entering. "Come on, we'll be going in Edward's car."

My eyebrow rose. "Where's yours?"

Somehow I knew, as I followed her into the silver car, that she would be blushing if she could. "Um, well, I wasn't used to driving without my visions, and I sort of crashed."

I winced, knowing full well that she had crashed because I had screwed with her power. "Sorry."

"Well, in both our defences, the other guy was drunk," she said, shrugging. Edward started the car and drove out of the garage at a leisurely pace, unlike Rosalie, who drove like the hounds of hell were after her.

My eyebrows shot up in alarm. "Other guy? Was he okay?"

"He was fine, I didn't have visions, but I still had vampire reflexes. I swerved. My car on the other hand, needed a pile of new things, so I decided that while it was in the shop, I'd get it fully upgraded. It should be done in few days." She actually clapped her hands together like a child.

I smiled at her behaviour and slid over to her, sighing in contentment when she leaned against me.

Edward chuckled at us in the rear-view mirror.

"What's so funny, Chuckles? I've seen you do it with Jasper at least four times since I came to your house," I said, looking between the two guys in the front seats.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you two act like you've been in a relationship for years, instead of a few days," he replied.

I looked down at Alice and met her golden eyes. Did we? I mean, I felt damn comfortable around her and we seemed to have completely skipped that nervous 'start-of-relationship-jitters', where every move you made was scrutinised in case you offended your prospective partner. I had read many books and watched TV shows that told me as much.

Alice wrapped her arm more snugly around my waist. "That's because we complement each other so well. Like you and Jazz."

I frowned at that. "Speaking of you and Jasper, last night you said we would be Forks' first same-sex relationship. What about you two? Does nobody know about you?"

Jasper smiled and patted Edwards hand affectionately. "We used to keep it a secret several decades ago, because of the negative views on homosexuality, but since the eighties, we stopped bothering. But even so, we're both very private people and we don't engage in much PDA. It's not that we hid it, if someone were to ask, we'd tell them, it's more that nobody seems to have noticed."

Alice scoffed beside me. "Or they just didn't want to believe it. If Jessica found out that you two were gay, she'd take it upon herself to show you just what you were missing."

Edward visibly shuddered, slowing down slightly as though he wanted to prolong the ride so he wouldn't have to deal with her.

Unfortunately for him, even going slowly, Forks school filled the windshield in a few minutes in all its glory. Students were getting out of their cars, talking to their peers, or just wandering around like lost sheep until the bell rang. I knew I probably should have been apprehensive about this, but I wasn't. What would happen, would happen and there was nothing I could do to stop it, short of pretending Alice and I weren't together and that was just stupid.

"Oh, there are Jesse and Lee," Alice said, pointing towards my two siblings. They were leaning against our car, watching the surrounding students with disinterest. Lee held my messenger bag in his hand along with his own.

Edward pulled into the space beside them and turned off the ignition. I could see Emmett and Rosalie making their way over towards us, so I opened the door and slipped out. By the time Edward, Jasper and Alice had gathered around me, Emmett and Rosalie had arrived, all of us standing in a circle regarding each other warily. Or at least, everyone else was.

I sighed. "Ok, before everybody starts pulling out the pistols, you're all at least over fifty years old, so let's all try to get along, shall we?"

Both Jesse and Lee glanced at me, taking in my determined expression before sighing in resignation.

"Fine, we'll behave," Lee stated, handing me my bag. I watched as they all relaxed slightly and stopped looking so defensive.

"See, isn't that better?" I nodded decisively pulled my bag strap over my chest. Gesturing between the two families, I said "Okay, now make friendly."

Emmett pushed past Jasper and walked over to my brother, holding a hand out. "Hey, I'm Emmett and the drop-dead gorgeous blond is my mate, Rosalie." Alice's sister smirked slightly at this, but stepped forward and held out her hand also.

Lee wasn't a petite guy by any means, but even he seemed small compared to the walking tree-man that was Emmett. He reached out and returned the shake, looking slightly bewildered by Emmett's friendly attitude. He shook Rosalie's hand next. "Hello Emmett, Rosalie, I'm Lee and the redhead is my mate, Jesse."

It was obvious that they already knew each other's names, but for the sake of first time introductions, they chose to reaffirm them.

Jasper bobbed his head in their direction. "Jasper, and this here is my mate, Edward."

Alice giggled beside me and leaned against my side. "Well look at you, making peace wherever you are."

"Is it wrong for me to want my family and the family of my girlfriend to get along?" I asked her, ignoring Jesse's snort.

The bell rang before she could come up with a suitably insulting comment, so we all agreed to meet up at lunch and see how the human's reacted to that little bit of gossip gold.

Alice and I shared AP English, so we made our way towards the class-room hand in hand. On the way there, nobody seemed to connect our joined hands with any kind of romantic relationship and I began to wonder how to go about this.

"Hey Alice," I asked, opening the door to the English room, ushering her in before me. It was almost full, soggy students sitting as close to the radiator as possible while still being in their seats. A few spaces were left open, but only one with two chairs available side by side, coincidentally the same one we sat at on my first day here.

"Yeah?" She practically floated her way over and sat down delicately, drawing her usual admiring stares. This probably should have bothered me more than it did, but Alice, being a vampire, was the monogamous sort, so I had no reason to worry about competition. Still, it didn't mean I liked the more lustful gazes. Admiration was fine, leering was not.

"How exactly do we come out to Forks? Nobody seemed to click with the hand-holding, probably because you seem like a very touchy-feely person to begin with, but outright kissing on a table in the cafeteria seems kinda tacky."

She thought about that for a moment. "Well, I've never come out to a school before. I guess we just act like ourselves and wait for them to catch on."

I nodded, watching as the teacher came in and began setting up his projector. Seemed simple enough.

**XXX**

Of all the fruits of the world, bananas would have to be my least favourite. It wasn't that I didn't like them, it was just that I liked them the least. Their taste just didn't do it for me, and the general appearance of them irked me for some reason. After learning of my newfound sexual preference, Jesse was convinced that my putting bananas at the bottom of my fruit pile held some Freudian significance, something I chose to ignore whenever she brought it up.

I didn't usually spend hefty amounts of time mulling over the existence of the yellow fruit, but I found myself doing just that, mainly to avoid busting a rib laughing over the scene taking place beside me in the cafeteria line.

"Yes Stephen, I meant it _that way_. Bella and myself are in a relationship, she is my girlfriend, ma petite amie, meine freundin, la mia ragazza. Are there any other languages you'd like me to say it in before you get it through that surprisingly thick head of yours and stop hitting on her in that crude and disgusting manner?"

Alice could be surprisingly intimidating when she put her mind to it and the stunned guy she was growling at was finding that out the hard way.

After deciding to 'just act like ourselves and wait for them to catch on', Alice had lasted approximately two hours and thirty-six minutes before cracking and yelling at the third guy to proposition me. Stephen Bradshaw, local quarter-back and notorious ladies-man had been the most persistent so far, suggesting a whole manner of inappropriate activities that would only be suitable for people who had been in a relationship for a long time and felt a deep and abiding love for one another. Unfortunately, I had discovered that most humans didn't share my sentiments in that area and frequently went at it like rabbits whenever they could.

When he first made a play for my attention, I had politely told him that I wasn't interested, tightened my grip on Alice's hand and went back to perusing the food selection. Both my siblings, whom I could see out of the corner of my eye, had been sending their best death-ray impressions in his direction, something to which he was painfully oblivious. I had reached the fruit section and noticed the bananas, when Alice had cut the young Mr Bradshaw off during his third, and thus far, most vulgar suggestion. In her defence, she had been cordial when she told him I was spoken for. At least the first time.

However, Stephen didn't seem to think that any girl would turn him down to be with another girl in 'that way'. Alice had taken offence at that, and here we were. Understandably, several people in the line with us, as well as some who were seated, were watching with morbid interest.

"Whoa, chill lady, I was just asking if she wanted a good time," he groused, crossing his arms over his expansive chest and trying to look tough. If he knew that the diminutive girl he was squaring off against could rip out his spine and beat him with it, he probably would have been more terrified than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

"Well if your idea of a 'good time' involves the back seat of your car, then she's not interested," Alice stated, unmoved by his macho attempts.

He huffed in disgust, looking past her at me. "Well, I guess we know who wears the pants in your relationship."

My brows furrowed and I looked down at my legs, then at Alice. "We're both wearing pants."

He tossed his head, light brown hair flying in all directions. I could tell that Alice's glaring was getting to him, what little self-preservation instincts he had warning him against her. "Whatever, when you're ready to be with a real man, let me know."

I cocked my head to the side. "The fact that I'm with Alice in a romantic relationship should tell you that I don't want a man. Why would you assume otherwise?"

He didn't seem to know how to reply to that one, so he merely gave Alice a dark look, turned on his heel and stormed away, pushing a freshman out of his path as he went. Everything was silent for a few moments before the whispering started, although to us it really wasn't that quiet.

I picked up my tray and placed an orange on it beside my salad and milk carton. Glancing beside me at the still irate Alice, I remarked casually, "So, act like ourselves, huh?"

She looked at me, then back at the door Stephen had left through, then back again, looking a great deal more sheepish each time her head moved. "Uh, sorry?"

I smirked. "Oh, no need to apologise. I thought it was rather romantic, you defending my virtue and all that." We both paid at the counter and made our way towards the table that now held the Cullen's and my family. "Besides, that was one way to come out to Forks."

The sound of snickering reached my ears and I looked up to see Emmett trying to muffle his laughter and failing miserably. The rest of them were looking at Alice with sympathy and understanding, even Jesse.

Alice put her tray down and plopped into her seat, looking despondent. "You guys never said it would be this bad. I'm _never _jealous!"

I took the seat beside her and looked over at Lee in question, who turned to face me. "You know how when vampires are newly mated, they're all giggly and happy one minute, but if anyone tries to hit on one of them, they turn on that person like rabid dogs?"

I paused, forkful of salad half-way to my mouth. "I do now."

He looked frankly surprised. "Oh, did we not mention that? Must have slipped our minds."

I stared at him incredulously. "Slipped your minds? It's sort of an important talk to have, don't you think?"

"Well I'm sorry, but do you have any idea how many talks are required when raising a child from infancy?" He held up his hand and began ticking off fingers. "You need the 'don't talk to strangers' talk, the 'don't play with dangerous equipment' talk and the dreaded 'sex' talk to name just a few. Not to mention the fact that you weren't exactly a normal baby, so we had to add even more, like the 'no powers around humans' talk, the 'stop bringing home pet mountain lions' talk, the 'don't fly out of the country without telling us first' talk. Some are bound to slip through the net."

I considered that briefly. "True."

"When did you fly out of the country?" Edward asked, looking at me curiously.

I chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of my neck. "Oh, I, um, flew to Tahiti when I was twelve."

The Cullen's made various noises ranging from a strangled duck to a strange sort of squeak.

"You flew to _Tahiti _when you were _twelve_?" Rosalie asked.

"Well, I was going through puberty and I was a little miffed," I hedged. "And a lot of kids run away for a little bit."

Emmett snorted. "Yeah, but they usually don't make it into the next town, let alone skip the entire continent."

"Man, did we have a major freak out over that little incident," Jesse reminisced, gaze distant.

"You must have been a blast to watch grow up," the burly vampire continued.

Lee laughed. "That's one way of putting it." He nudged his mate. "Hey, remember that time we were staying at that little fishing town and we rented that boat?"

Jesse smiled hugely. "And we went out on that really long ocean cruise?" He nodded, snickering.

"What happened?" Jaspers soft voice was heard easily over their laughter.

Hands waving, Jesse scooted up in her chair. "Okay, so Bella was about three at this point. She could already run faster than a human and was able to fly, so we didn't have to worry about her all that much. So we get out there, no humans in sight and we're just chilling on the water, when we see the dorsal fin of a shark.

"We automatically turn the boat in that direction to go see it. Turns out, it was a great white attacking a large school of fish. We pull the boat up at a respectable distance and sit back to watch. After a few minutes, the shark goes under and we notice that Bella isn't with us and is in fact no longer on the boat."

Alice leaned forward earnestly, listening to Jesse tell one of the many stories from my childhood. I merely rolled my eyes and took another bite of salad, watching the students around us give up their pretence of not openly staring at us and just openly stare at us.

"So anyway, there we are frantically searching the ship for the little miss when Clare turns around and screams in pure reaction. All of us spin in the direction she's facing, expecting to see the worst and in some ways we do."

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see one of the braver students make his way towards us, only to be met with an almost vicious glare from Rosalie. He backs away swiftly and I raise an eyebrow at her.

"I want to hear what happens next," she said unrepentedly, shrugging.

Jesse grinned at her and continued. "We finally spot her, out in the open water, little feet kicking to keep her afloat and her hand resting on the damn shark's nose."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Alice breathed, turning her wide-eyed gaze in me. "You did _not_ make friends with a friggin' great white."

"I knew she wasn't going to hurt me and I liked making new friends when I was younger," I replied, pulling off an orange segment and popping it into my mouth, enjoying the rich tangy flavour.

Lee scoffed. "When you were younger? Did we or did we not find you snuggling with a grizzly a few months ago?"

"Hey, leave Clarence out of this."

"Clarence? You named a grizzly bear Clarence?" This came from Edward as he picked apart his bagel. Why did the Cullen's spend lunch in the cafeteria if none of them ate anyway. Surely they could just go home for lunch, or to the library?

"Well, yeah. When I first met him, I had this little bell on a charm bracelet and he kept poking at it to hear the sound."

"And that led you to name him Clarence because..?"

"It's A Wonderful Life. You know, "Atta boy Clarence!"

It finally clicked and he nodded his head in understanding. "How apt that you should watch a Christmas movie about an angel."

"Hey, that's a feel good movie and one of the most inspirational films to date, I didn't just watch it for the angel."

"That's it, next time you're over at our house, I'm gonna pick the best angel movie I can find and we're all watching it," Emmett said, draping an arm around Rosalie.

The sound of footsteps moving in our direction distracted me before I could say anything, and I turned to see Katie making her way towards our table with determined strides. The whispering around us ceased almost immediately as they all watched her approach. Her heartbeat was a bit accelerated, her nervousness at coming over to the infamous Cullen table showing through.

Stopping beside me she waved slightly at the other occupants. "Hello."

Edward relaxed minutely beside Jasper and smiled back at her.

"Um, Bella, we were just wondering if maybe you could swing by our table for a minute?"

"Sure, lead the way." I stood up and followed her across the cafeteria, glancing back at the others for a few moments. They seemed apprehensive as to how this would go and I couldn't say that I didn't feel the same way.

The table she led me to was the same one I had sat at when my family and the Cullen's had gone hunting for that sunny week, and the people sitting there were still the same. Angela, Tyler, Ben and Eric sat on one side, while Jessica, Lauren and Mike sat on the other, with two empty seats left for Katie and I.

I sat down on the seat between Angela and Eric and waited patiently for them to start the conversation.

Tyler began it by resting his arms on the table and speaking slowly, almost hesitantly. "So, you're gay, huh?"

I knew that wasn't entirely accurate. I didn't prefer women so much as I preferred Alice. "I guess so."

Everyone was silent as they digested that for a moment. Then Eric spoke up. "And you bagged Alice Cullen? Nice."

I laughed a bit at is expression, equal parts awed and jealous. "Yeah, she is."

Angela nudged me and I turned to her, noting her smile. "When we were at La Push, you told me you were sort of involved with someone. It _was _Alice wasn't it? You don't have any other girlfriends or boyfriends stashed away anywhere do you?"

"Now why on earth would I need anyone else? You _have_ seen Alice, right?" I heard laughter from my table and looked over to see a smug grin on Alice's face.

Eric whistled. "Hell yeah I've seen her. Gorgeous in every sense of the word, tiny waist, built like a model and with curves that just won't stop."

I levelled him with a mock glare. "Hey, you eyeballing my woman?"

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "You're one of the guys now. That means you gotta notice these things on a woman, whether you're dating her or not. Now don't worry, the guy code strictly prohibits stealing another guys girl, but as my dad always says, 'if it's there, you gotta stare'".

"Why am I the guy?"

He shrugged. "Because you're taller, that's why."

"And we've never seen you in a dress or skirt, unlike Alice," Katie put in. "Therefore, you've been allotted the status of 'guy'. Stereotypical, I know, but what can you do?"

I regarded the four who had yet to say anything, Ben, Lauren, Jessica and Mike. "And what about you guys? Do I have to worry about being shunned by you for who I choose to date, or can well all just get along?"

Ben smiled at me. "As long as you don't put those moves of yours Angela, I'm cool with it."

I gasped in mock horror and turned to look at the furiously blushing girl in question. "I wouldn't dream of it!"

She grinned over at me shyly. "What about you, when did you and Alice start going out?"

"Well, we actually went on our first date last Friday." I smiled at the memory. ""It was awesome."

"Well, I don't have a problem with it either, I suppose, and I'm not ashamed to admit that you've provided me with enough juicy gossip to last the rest of the semester at least," Jessica put in, surprising me with her statement.

Mike and Lauren were the only ones that hadn't said anything yet so everyone turned my head to face them.

Scratching the back of his neck, Mike cleared his throat. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm okay with this, Bella, because I'm not. But I can be honest enough with myself to admit that it's not just because you're gay, more because I'm jealous."

"Well, I didn't expect everyone to be okay with it, and I'm positive that a lot of people will be firmly against it, but I can appreciate your honesty."

He bobbed his head once and went back to eating his fries and meatloaf.

Lauren scoffed and glared at me. "Bella, I don't like you, and I doubt I'll ever like you, so I don't really care who the hell you go out with, as long as you keep your eyes off me." That was surprisingly mature of her. She didn't dislike my preferences, she just disliked _me._ How consistent.

I easily heard Alice let out a low growl, almost over-run by Emmett's booming laugh and I resisted the urge to look over at her.

"Okay, now that all the serious stuff is out of the way, give me some details. Have you guys kissed yet?" Eric was enjoying this way too much, but I couldn't fault his enthusiasm.

I remained sitting at their table for the remainder of lunch and bade them goodbye when the bell rang, making my way towards my fellow non-humans. As soon as I reached them, Alice wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned into me, placing gentle kiss on my lips. The students surrounding us as they left the cafeteria responded to this with various responses, from smiles, to indifference, to outright disgust. However, none of the latter group said anything, mainly because there were seven vampires around me and they subconsciously knew that antagonising our group would be a bad idea right now.

""You okay?" she asked.

I smiled at them in reassurance. "I'm fine, everyone was cool with it and Lauren just dislikes me for the sake of disliking me."

"She's actually very jealous of you, but what she said was true, she doesn't care either way," Edward noted, looking at each face as they passed, likely reading their thoughts for any signs of hostility.

Jesse pushed between Alice and I, wrapping her arms around us both. "Okay, if anyone gives you two lovebirds any trouble, just send 'em my way. I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget."

I shook my head at her. "Jesse, while your threat is equal parts ominous and endearing, there will most likely be a lot of opposition and I'd prefer not to have to worry about anybody getting the crap kicked out of them. Everybody is entitled to their own personal opinion and if we tried to force our own views onto them through violence, we'd be no better than they are."

She gave a little growl of frustration. "You know, sometimes I really dislike your understanding attitude. Fine, I won't use physical violence unless they do it first, but I will use my superior knowledge and verbal fighting skills to give them a thorough tongue-lashing."

Emmett crossed his huge arms over his chest as we all made our way to the double-doors. "I reserve my right to beat on anyone who tries to pick on you two."

My sister perked up at that, trotting over to look up into his eyes beseechingly. "Oh, can I stand on the side-lines and heckle them while you hurt them? Please?"

Emmett grinned at her, clapping her on the shoulder approvingly. "I can see that this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." More worrisome words were never spoken.

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully, with the exception of my Maths teacher, Mr Hansson, a portly man with greying hair, acting more than a little chilly towards me. It was to be expected, so I didn't let it bother me. I could only imagine the reaction I'd get in gym tomorrow.

By the time the final bell rang, I was in the mood for a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a giant glass of milk, cookies optional. The Cullens and my siblings were all grouped together beside our respective cars when I arrived and Alice immediately leapt into my arms.

"Hello Alice, did you have any problems today?" I inquired with a smile.

She shrugged, resting her chin on my shoulder. "No one tried anything yet, and other than the whispering, everything was fairly okay." We both knew that the likelihood of problems arising in the future was high. Once the students overcame their surprise, the crap might hit the fan, but everyone I cared about was fine with it so I couldn't care less.

"So when are you guys coming over tonight?" I asked, directing my question at the girl attached to my hip.

"Say what now?" Jesse looked between us in confusion.

I clapped my hand to my forehead. "Sorry, I totally spaced. I invited the Cullen's over tonight so we could have everyone meet each other."

"Sounds like a good idea," Lee said. "I assume they'll be bringing Sanderson over?"

Alice nodded. "Yup, we'll be over at around seven. That good?"

I leaned down and pulled her into a kiss, then pulled back after a few delicious seconds. "Very good."

I would have gone in for more, but Lee broke in. "Okay, okay, we should go before you two start making out on the car."

I pouted. "I have more class than that…we'd make out _in_ the car."

Emmett, Edward and Jasper all chuckled, even Rosalie smiling a bit, and opened their car door, piling in while my siblings did the same until only Alice and I were left outside.

I ran a hand through her spikey hair and watched as it sprang back up. "Did I ever tell you that I think you have fantastic hair?"

Her tinkling laughter cut through the surrounding sounds of car exhausts and wind, as well as the occasional whispered comment. "No, but thank you."

I tightened my arms around her as she laid her head on my shoulder, both of us swaying together gently.

"We probably shouldn't be doing this in the school parking lot," she commented, after a moment of comfortable silence.

"Afraid of harming their fragile sensibilities?"

She smiled into my neck. "Nope, I'm insanely lucky to have you and I intend to show you off as much as I possibly can."

"Likewise, Alice, likewise."

A honk of a car brought me out of my Alice-haze and I turned to glare at Jesse, who looked completely unrepentant. I sighed and took a step back, untangling my arms from around her.

"I guess I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah, tonight."

Neither of us moved.

"Oh for God's sake, you'll see each other in three hours! It's really not that long," Rosalie grumbled, sounding extremely exasperated

"Alright already, I'm coming." Alice pressed her lips to mine one last time and walked backwards to her car, eyes on me the whole time. I did the same and only broke eye contact when a cold hand wrapped itself in my shirt and pulled me off my feet and into the car.

"Quick Lee, drive! Before she realises she's more than five feet away from Alice and panics!"

"Oh shut up." I sat back into my seat and looked out the window, spotting Alice's face as she did the same in her car. Our eyes remained locked until we were out of sight of each other and I resigned myself to three hours of no Alice until her and her family came over tonight.

Man, I had it bad.

**A/N: And another chapter comes to a close. I was meant to have this up several days ago, but I couldn't write for some reason. Anyway, hope you liked it and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I would have liked for this chapter to be all fluffy, with rainbows and unicorns and butterflies, but, alas, some people are just narrow-minded and if there was no conflict, it would not be realistic. Not that a story about angels and vampires is realistic to begin with, but you know...**

**As always, I live on your reviews, so R&R. You know you want to…**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Okay, new chapter up and running.**

**Tytus: I hope you're really happy with yourself, you conniving sea slug. Yes, I said it. I had absolutely none of this written when you forced me to write it, so I had to work hard…**

**Also, this chapter is sent to you, Reflections of a Curious Mind, in a shameless attempt to make you write faster…I have recently found out that bribing people with chapters works wonders.**

BPOV

Very few people realise how difficult it is to sweep the floor with a cat attached to the broom. Those little suckers just latch on and won't let go, even when you drag them all around the house in an attempt to remove the dust. That was why I was sort of glad Sanderson was at someone else's house for the time being, because for such a lazy cat, he was one of the worst broom-latchers I had ever seen.

After we had arrived home from school and I had pulled myself out of my 'lack-of-Alice' funk, I had decided to put my mind to cleaning in order to make our home presentable for the coming guests. That had started off with the dishes, which had included one cup and a fork, but still. Then I had moved on to vacuuming the carpeted sections of the house, polishing the already clear windows (just in case), along with a myriad of other things and now was sweeping. It went much faster without a cat.

"Guys, could you at least _try _to help out?" I asked my siblings, exasperated with their lack of movement. Brandishing my brush at them didn't seem to help either. Both of them were lounging on the couch, curled up together and flicking through the channels.

Lee, doing an almost perfect imitation of Sanderson, stretched to his full length, then curled up slightly again. "Bella, will you relax."

"Yeah, relax," Jesse echoed, busily reading a magazine based around chess and up-coming tournaments, something that she sometimes entered and rarely, if ever, lost. "Come over here and sit down. Animal Planet is on, you love Animal Planet."

I looked to the TV and saw a fox cub playing in the brush. Managing to stop myself from cooing, if only barely, I resolutely turned my head away from the screen. "No, there is no time for the cuteness, cleaning must take priority."

Scoffing, Lee turned to look at me. "What cleaning? Our house is already clean, you're just nervous. Again."

"I am not nervous."

"You clean when you're nervous," Jesse put in.

I paused. "I do not."

"The entire first week after you found out about your tendency to blow things up with your mind, you spent it cleaning. You even took apart, cleaned and oiled, then reassembled my wood chipper and Lee's bike. Which was impressive, seeing as you were five at the time." She turned the page of her magazine and settled back into her smirking mate.

Huh. "Okay, maybe I do, but you could still humour my idiosyncrasies and get off your asses," I mumbled, leaning the broom against the wall now that the floor was clean enough to see your face in.

Looking around the room, I saw that one of the family photos on the wall, depicting our trip to Disneyland, was crooked. Flitting over, I straightened it out and took a moment to look at it.

It had been taken in front of the Living Seas restaurant. I was in the middle, with Jesse and Lee on either side, arms around me. Micheal and Clare were behind us, the picture having been taken by a hapless tourist that had been snagged by Clare's charms. We all were smiling, me brandishing my hard earned stuffed toy, a little pink lion that I had won in the ring toss and had named, imaginatively, Liony. I had been seven and had managed to get my powers to cooperate for that weekend. The normally long queues had been missing seeing as it had been a miserable day, with an overcast sky, cold winds and random showers. We had chosen that weekend to go for obvious reasons, but despite the weather, it was one of my favourite memories.

"I'm just trying to make the house more presentable for when the Cullens arrive."

"Of course, because we all know the Cullens would _never _associate with a family who didn't alphabetize their DVD collection," Lee stated dryly.

I sighed, trudging over to the couch and plopping down, placing my head in Jesse's lap and letting my feet dangle over the end. "Put Animal Planet back on."

"That's my girl," Jesse said approvingly, running her fingers absently through my white hair. My ring was in my pocket after I had decided that it was sort of pointless to wear it when the Cullen's already knew what I looked like. I could also admit to myself that I was maybe, sort of, possibly trying to impress Alice.

Possibly.

I gradually wound down while watching the adventures of the little fox cub, and by the time my parents arrived from wherever they had been, I was completely relaxed.

"Where were you?" I asked as soon as they walked in the door.

"Hunting. Then we got a little…held up," Micheal told me, exchanging a glance with Clare. It was only then that I noticed the state their clothes were in. They both were very neat hunters, so that left-

"Oh God. I did not need to know that..," I groaned, turning my head to shield my eyes from my mussed up parents.

Micheal chuckled and walked further into the house, while Clare flitted up the stairs. The shower started soon after. "Now Bella, we may be your parents, but that does not stop us from having s-"

"Don't say it!" I cut him off. "We have always had an unspoken agreement, whenever any of you guys get…urges, I go flying. The agreement also states that we do not speak of such things. Not after the talk." I turned to glare at Jesse. "I still haven't forgotten that."

She held up her hands in a surrendering gesture. "I said I was sorry, I just couldn't resist. Besides, you borrowed dad's encyclopaedia and found out the truth after a few minutes anyway."

When I had been four, I had gotten curious about life, as kids usually do, and had asked Jesse to explain. She had added certain…embellishments to the story, and not of the stork or cabbage patch variety either.

Clare arrived down the stairs soon after as Micheal went up to take his turn, clean and wearing fresh clothes. Walking over, she sat down in front of the couch, leaning back against it.

"What time will they be arriving?" she asked, as I heated up my hands and ran them through her wet hair. Her hair was fairly short and didn't require much drying, not like Jesse's long, thick mane, but this was easier than using a hairdryer.

"About ten minutes. They're bringing the cat."

She laughed, resting her head against my side. "I bet they had a handful with him."

"He's taken a liking to Rosalie, actually. And he already thinks their house belongs to him."

She 'hmm'd. "He's a cat, Bella, they're all convinced that the world belongs to them."

I chuckled. "Yeah, remember Tango?"

Jesse finished her magazine and placed it to the side, looking down at me with a raised eyebrow. "The first mountain lion you brought home? How could we forget?"

"Was that the one who wouldn't get off the Christmas tree?" Micheal asked as he came down the stairs. He walked towards me and I sent a jet of heated air towards his head, drying it quickly. He nodded in thanks and pulled Clare to her feet, both of them sitting down on the loveseat.

"Wouldn't get off the Christmas tree? That thing _killed_ the Christmas tree," Lee put in. "And I'm fairly certain it ate one of the baubles."

My brows furrowed as I glance at another picture on the wall, this one showing my sixth Christmas. All of my family were standing off to the side, dressed in knitted sweaters and Santa hats, timed camera forgotten as we watched one hundred and eighty pounds of cat roll around in what was left of our tree. If a human ever came over, we would definitely have to take down most of the family photos.

"I blame myself for that. I really shouldn't have gotten him catnip as a present," I said, smiling slightly at the memory.

"Well, in all honesty, he really seemed to have enjoyed himself. Especially when he got into the fridge." Jesse cocked her head to the side, remembering. "Man, there was milk _everywhere_."

Any further acts of reminiscing were put to a stop as we all heard the sound of two engines starting down our road. I glanced at my watch, noticing that it was exactly the time they said they would arrive. I guess they were very punctual people.

We all waited patiently as the sound of the engines grew louder, and I couldn't help the sense of excitement and expectation that welled up in me. Alice was coming.

APOV

At this point in my life, I should have mastered the art of patience, especially considering my gift.

I constantly had visions of things that would happen, and then I would have to wait until it came about. I was over a hundred years old and had to go through school over and over again, and dealing with teenage humans day after day does, in fact, require tremendous amounts of patience.

I should have been able to deal with three hours easily. All of the evidence and my past experiences told me as much, and yet I was barely stopping myself from leaping out of the horribly slow moving car and pelting down the road towards Bella's house.

I sighed, flopping back into my seat in between Rosalie and Jasper. "Are you guys _sure _this is normal?"

We had decided to take two cars, as opposed to running, as we weren't sure how the cat would react to those speeds. Carlisle and Esme were in the BMW in front of us, while we were all in Edward's Volvo. Edward was driving, and Emmett's sheer size usually guaranteed him a place in the front, so the rest of us were stuck in the back.

Rosalie exhaled in exasperation. "For the last time Alice, _yes, _it's normal." Sanderson seconded her statement with a tiny 'mew' from his place in her arms. We had come home to find Esme watching TV, with the cat sleeping on the back of the sofa, curled around her neck like a mink stole. That had led to me waiting not so patiently for three hours until we could leave again.

Both Carlisle and Esme had been thrilled with the invitation and were very eager to meet the rest of the Van Allens.

"But I basically _just _saw her, and now I'm anxious that she's not here beside me right now," I said, not really understanding this need to be near Bella.

"Alice, you've only just found your mate, so I can understand your confusion, but all vampires go through this. We all did, and now it's your turn, so suck it up." Sanderson 'mew'd again in what I swore was agreement.

"Oh I am so separating you two," I grumbled.

"Don't hate the cat just because he knows I'm right," she responded, smug.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." Raising my voice slightly, I turned my attention to the car in front of us. "Turn left up here Carlisle."

As his left indicator lit up, I glanced at Edward. "Can't you drive any faster?"

"Alice, we're already going forty miles over the speed limit."

"And?"

He paused. "Nothing really, I just thought that I should try to be responsible." He pressed his foot down and we sped up, the BMW following suit to prevent it us from banging into them.

The incredibly long driveway down to Bella's house was well maintained, fresh gravel lining the road and trees growing up and over, creating a tunnel. It was seven o' clock, the sun almost completely set but it was dark already thanks to the cloud cover. It wasn't long before we could see lights in the distance, and since no one else lived this far out, we knew that it was Bella's house.

By the time we pulled up in front of the house, I was leaning over Jasper to get closer to the door.

"Wow, what a gorgeous house," Esme said, her voice carrying easily over to us as she opened her door and stepped out. Carlisle quickly followed, admiring his surroundings as he walked around the car towards his mate.

"Look at those lions!" Emmett crowed, unbuckling his seatbelt. For some reason, he always wore one, despite the fact that he wouldn't even get hurt in the event of a crash. "They look so life-like. And huge."

I didn't wait for Jasper to get out first, I just scrambled over him and landed on my feet, hopping impatiently as I waited for my family to get a move on. They piled out quickly, Rosalie cradling the cat gently and we made our way to the doors.

Turns out that Bella also wasn't great with the waiting. I had just raised my hand to knock, when the door was flung open, my still-raised hand was grabbed and I was pulled into the house. Warm arms wrapped around me and I raised my face instinctively to meet her lips. From the scent and the heat, I could tell that the glamour was gone and I smiled into the kiss.

I heard Carlisle and Esme introduce themselves, as well as my siblings and listened with half an ear as Bella's family reciprocated. Everybody shook hands and the door was closed. Seeing as everybody already knew the two of us, I didn't see any reason to break apart right at this moment.

Unfortunately they didn't agree. I felt a hand grip the back of my shirt and then I was pulled away from Bella, protests falling from the both of us as we were held up by Emmett like scolded puppies.

"Emmett," I whined. "Put me down."

"So you two can go back to locking lips for the rest of the night? No way."

"Oh come on, you and Rose do way worse all the time!" I didn't care if I was being petulant.

He began walking into the living room at the direction of Bella's mother, who looked way too amused. "Now, now, it's really for your own good. As much as I'd love to watch a little girl on girl action, if we let you do that, I'll never get my questions answered."

Bella huffed, looking beyond adorable hanging there in my brother's large grip. "My parents know everything I do, ask _them_ your questions. Just give me back Alice."

Everyone else sat down in various seats as Emmett pulled us over to the couch, flopping down with both of us on either side of him. Unfortunately for him, he had never seen Bella move, so as soon as his grip on her relaxed, she was up off the couch and over to me faster than he could register. I twisted in place and placed my feet against his side, booting him off the couch as Bella scooped me up into her arms and sat down.

"Hey! What the hell?" Emmett cried, looking extremely put out. Which was fairly understandable, sprawled on the floor as he was.

We grinned in unison down at him. He grumbled up at us as he stood back up and took his seat, sending little glares at us from the corner of his eye. The tiny smile on his face, however, betrayed his true feelings on the matter.

"Are we going to get into this or are you three going to start mud-wrestling?" Jesse asked, glancing between us.

I looked to Carlisle, knowing that he had actually compiled a list of questions, but I found him to be staring at Bella's father with great intensity.

"I know you, don't I?" he asked.

Micheal smiled slightly. "Yes, we met about two hundred years ago, albeit briefly."

Carlisle straightened, rubbing his jaw as he thought back. "I was with the Volturi at that time." His eyes widened in realisation. "I do remember you, you were one of the Guard."

I looked between the two of them, surprised. Bella's father had been a member of the Volturi Guard? Did that mean he had an ability? Of course it did, Aro didn't recruit powerless vampires. So what was it? I leaned back against Bella as she began to gently run her fingers through my hair.

Micheal laughed. "My tenure with the Volturi had to have been the shortest in history." He wrapped his arm around Clare and pulled her into his side. "You see, the Volturi are the ones who changed both Clare and myself."

Jasper leaned forward alongside Carlisle, looking extremely interested. We had originally thought to come here to learn about Bella, but coming to know her family would be equally important. "Why? And how did you get out? The Volturi aren't really great with letting gifted vampires leave their ranks."

"Actually, we had originally been captured to be a meal for them." He looked over at the wall which held a broken dagger, smiling slightly once again. "However, there was a vampire amongst them with the ability to be able to see any gifts a vampire had, or that a human would have once they were turned."

I perked up at that. "Eleazar?"

He turned to me, eyebrow raised. "You know him?"

"Yeah, he's a friend of ours. He left the Volturi a long time ago to be with his mate, Carmen. He's actually a vegetarian now."

Bella's father grinned, as did Clare. "That's great. I never understood why such a decent man would willingly work for people like that."

"Why did you?" Rosalie asked, absently scratching Sanderson under the ears and receiving loud purrs as thanks.

Micheal shook his head. "We didn't know any better. After Eleazar sensed that we would have abilities, Aro immediately turned us. They explained very little about their inner workings, or even about the finer details of being vampires at first. I guess they wanted us to have a reason to stay until we became so used to them that we didn't want to leave. Familiarity is a powerful thing."

"After a while, once we got over the rage-filled newborn phase, we resented what they had done and detested our need to kill." He grinned over at Carlisle. "We had been with them for about eleven months when a nomad came with stories of a strange golden-eyed vampire. He was the first vampire we had met other than the Volturi and he told us what we needed to know about ourselves. Or at least what we hadn't discovered on our own by then."

"And that was when I arrived?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes. I only met you for a few moments, but once I found out that there was another way to live, I immediately told Clare and we left. After much convincing, of course. I'm fairly certain that the only reason we made it out was because Chelsea had been away on business for a long time and hadn't had the chance to meet us."

Emmett, who had been clenching his jaw to keep from interrupting, couldn't keep quiet anymore. "What are your powers?"

Esme frowned at his bluntness, but Clare merely shook her head. "Don't worry about insulting us. If Jesse didn't already know about your abilities, she wouldn't have even bothered to wait.

"My own ability if fairly simple. I can 'scan' people through touch, determining their personalities, moral standards and intentions towards my family and me."

"That's gotta come in handy." My bear of a brother turned to look at Micheal. "What about you?" I sat up a little straighter in Bella's lap. I had known about Clare and her ability, but not Micheal. My visions also weren't helping, as they were still a little wonky.

He shrugged. "I don't really have a name for what I can do, but I suppose I can show you."

Clare pecked him on the cheek and stood up. "I've got it, honey." She zipped further into the house and from the direction of her steps, went down to the basement. A moment later she was back, carrying one of Micheal's statues. I knew it was one of his, because the stone cat looked so _lifelike. _There were even whiskers carved out of the same stone, even though that shouldn't have been possible, as thin as they were.

She placed it in front of him and he grinned up at us before focusing on the statue.

What happened next was strange. Vampires were very still creatures by nature, not needing to move much, but Micheal seemed to completely freeze in place. His still open eyes faded, as though he wasn't conscious anymore and the golden hue of his irises darkened until they were a deep grey.

Those changes, however, weren't what made it strange. It was the fact that when Micheal froze, the stone cat at his feet began moving. Its whiskers were first, twitching slightly. Then the tail, starting at the tip until it was swishing back and forth. The head shook and the cat stood up from its crouch, gazing up at us with golden eyes.

"Holy crap," Emmett breathed as all of us stared as this statue came to life.

Bella leaned her head on my shoulder. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?"

A purr came out of the cat, sounding deeper and more gravely than normal. It moved over to Clare and batted it's head against her leg. She chuckled and scooped it up, its dark stone limbs moving with as much grace and animation as an actual feline. "Okay, you can stop playing."

The purring stopped and the cat grinned, tiny stone teeth bared in a decent impression of the Cheshire Cat.

"How is that happening?" Edward asked, eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline.

Bella wrapped her arms around me from behind. "Micheal can transfer his consciousness into any statue that he has carved, animating it. As of right now, he's not in his body, he's in the cat."

I stared at the statue, then at Bella's frozen father, then back again. "Mr Van Allen?"

The tiny stone head swivelled towards me and nodded, eyelids blinking over golden eyes. Micheal's golden eyes.

"That's just freaky," Emmett said. "What are the limitations?"

Lee decided to field this question. "Well, as Bella said, he can only use statues that he himself has carved. Also, he can only do one at a time." He shifted slightly, hooking one leg around Jesse's. "A downside is that when he's inhabiting a statue, his body is defenceless, his diamond hard skin losing most of its density and becoming only as hard as the stone the statue is made of. The upside is that the vampiric attributes he loses, are transferred to the statue. That makes them a bitch to kill."

Jasper released a breath, impressed. "No wonder the Volturi wanted him. What's his range for piloting?"

"He doesn't have any. Once he's in a statue, he can stay in it for as long as he likes, going as far as he likes. If the statue is destroyed or he chooses to, he comes back to his own body instantly, although a destroyed statue while he's piloting it means he gets very disoriented for a while."

"Okay, that is officially the coolest vampire power I've ever heard of." Emmett seemed to think of something and looked at the door, eyes widening. "Please tell me you carved those giant lions outside."

The cat, or rather, Micheal, nodded again and Emmett crowed with excitement. "That is awesome! You have _got _to show me sometime, they're even bigger than the wolves. I bet you could kick their hairy asses with those things."

"Micheal created them for defensive purposes, so unless they attack, you won't be seeing the lions kick anyone's ass," Clare put in, lowering _Micheal _to the ground. He trotted over to his body- this was going to take some getting used to- and sat down in front of it.

After several seconds, the process reversed itself and Micheal groaned, stretching while the cat became an inanimate object once again. His eyes lightened until they were golden as the cats took on their natural grey hue.

"I always feel a bit creaky after doing that," he sighed, placing his arm back around his wife, who snuggled into his side affectionately.

"That is impressive. I'm even more astounded that Aro let you go," Carlisle stated, examining the statue closely.

Micheal shrugged. "Once he found out that we wanted to become vegetarians, he knew that even with Chelsea, we would no longer feel comfortable with them and a Guard that has no interest in protecting him is of no use to him."

Carlisle chuckled. "Knowing Aro, he probably thought that you would tire of your new life. He must have thought that if he acted like a decent man and let you go peacefully, when you did eventually return to your old ways, you would come back to him."

"From your tone of voice, I get the impression that you're not that close," Jesse observed. She was sitting with Lee on the second sofa, with Rosalie sitting beside her and Sanderson stretched between the two, watchful eyes on the cat statue.

Carlisle's expression turned almost sad. "When I first heard of them, I was so excited to be meeting with other civilized vampires that I could overlook their eating habits. Aro and myself did become good friends, to the point where I was even a little bit sad to leave." His gaze turned to me. "However, since I welcomed gifted vampires into my family, especially Alice, our relationship has deteriorated."

"He wanted her to join his Guard," Bella guessed correctly, arms tightening even further around me.

My foster father nodded. "Yes, as well as Jasper and Edward. The Romanian Coven, you see, had gathered many followers in secret about seventy years ago, attempting to oust the Volturi from power. Aro became desperate to get as many gifted vampires as he could and almost used Jane to force our cooperation."

Bella stiffened behind me, temperature rising, no doubt having been told of Jane by her father. I rubbed her arm soothingly, trying not to think back to that dark time when I had looked into Jane's eyes, terrified that she would use her 'gift' on me or my family.

She relaxed minutely and placed a small kiss on the back of my neck, settling in to listen to the rest of the story.

"We managed to convince him that we would like to remain peaceful and he left, though not on great terms. We haven't spoken since."

"Since this was before my time, I'm going to be the one who asks about the outcome of that war," Jesse said.

Edwards brow furrowed. "That's the strange thing. The Romanians were actually doing very well. They still had a long way to go, but it had gotten to the point where we were considering helping, when all of a sudden, the war stopped. The Romanians were pushed back and Aro regained all, if not more, of the power he had before the war."

"How?"

"Well, we haven't exactly asked him, but we just assumed that he had found some very gifted vampires willing to work for him. Since then, he hasn't had to worry at all about uprisings, his control over the vampire world is stronger than ever."

Micheal shook his head. "That man has always had an insatiable lust for power."

"Speaking of power, what about you, Bella? What kind of power are you packing?" That was Emmett. A one track mind. My family turned to face her and she shifted slightly.

"Well, I already went through it with Alice, so you guys get the condensed version. Strength almost equal to a vampire, speed greater than a vampire, better senses, animal empathy, you saw the healing, pyrokinesis and the whole flying thing. As well as the mental shield."

There was silence.

Emmett blinked. "Well, it was certainly condensed…"

"Did you just say pyrokinesis?" Carlisle asked, eyes wide.

Jesse grinned. "Why don't you give them a demonstration, Bella? It's getting a bit chilly in here."

Bella sighed and held out her hand towards the fireplace, which contained fresh pieces of wood. Seeing as she was basically wrapped around me, I felt the warmth start in her chest, then expand throughout her body as she focused, shooting down her arm and materializing in her hand.

The blue/silver flame grew and expanded, then with a flick of her wrist, shot into the fireplace, lighting the wood instantaneously. We all watched the hearty fire for a few moments, feeling the heat coming off of it.

Sanderson perked his head up, swivelling to look over at the newly roaring fire. He rolled off of Rosalie and Jesse's lap and padded towards it, flopping down onto the fluffy black mat before it. That cat sure flopped a lot.

"Astounding. I've seen many abilities in my time, but never flame manipulation. You must be completely immune to heat, or is it just the flames you generate? And how much fire can you produce? Is it more potent than normal? How do-"

"Honey," Esme interrupted, placing a soothing hand on his arm. "Why don't you let her answer one question before asking another?"

He looked sheepish, an expression I was not used to seeing on his face. "Sorry."

"No problem," Bella said, her voice flowing over the room in soothing tones. "I am immune to other forms of heat, not just my own. To what extent, I don't know, I've never exactly jumped into an active volcano to test it. The biggest fireball I produced was roughly the same size as this house, but in a constant stream I've yet to figure out my limit. The fire _can _be more potent than normal, or less, depending on my preference at the time. It also tends to be a little finicky, responding to my emotions a lot, which makes it unreliable in a fight. Any more questions?"

Carlisle was silent as he digested this, wheels turning in his head, so Emmett continued for him.

"You've had to use it in a fight?" Now it was my turn to stiffen. I knew that Bella had come into contact with other vampires, but I had never really thought about what that would mean.

"Twice." Her voice was soft, almost silent. "The first time I used it as a weapon was the first time I used it at all."

"What happened?" Rosalie asked. "If you don't mind telling, that is."

She shook her head. "It's no problem. It was twelve years ago, when I was five. Jesse and I were out in the woods playing hide and seek when another vampire came. I had been hiding, so Jesse was several miles away."

Jesse scowled, obviously remembering the incident and I barely stopped myself from snarling at the thought of Bella meeting a non-friendly vampire at such a young age.

"I may have been only five, but I wasn't stupid. He seemed way too interested in me, in my blood, so I ran for it. The canopy was too thick, so I was heading for a clearing so I could fly out of there. He was faster though and he caught me."

Now both Clare and Micheal growled slightly, expressions dark.

"My blood may not make your throat burn and test your control, but it does still smell good. He was about to take a bite when Jesse showed up and tackled him. There was a fight, but he was older and more experienced. The fight ended with his arm around Jesse's throat, about to kill her." She shivered behind me. "I freaked. I jumped onto his back and knocked him over, then the next thing I knew, I was on fire. And so was he. The rest is pretty self-explanatory."

I turned in her grip. "He died?"

She nodded, lips forming a tight line. "Very quickly. The second time was similar, but I didn't kill the vampire, just blew off one of his legs and Clare finished him."

Emmett whistled. "You blew off one of his legs? How is that not reliable in a fight?"

Bella scowled. "I was aiming for his head," she grumbled.

At her petulant expression, the tense atmosphere was broken and laughter rang throughout the room.

She scowled again and I leaned up to kiss her. Her temperature had risen a few notches since I had last done this, giving it a delightful edge. She responded enthusiastically, only stopping when Clare zipped up the stairs and back down, carrying some kind of chest.

"Oh God, mom, no. You promised," she whined, sounding extremely strange given her physical appearance and tone of voice.

"It was a loose verbal agreement. I never said the words 'I promise'." She grinned, looking decidedly evil. "Besides, I'm sure Alice would love to see some baby photos."

In a second I was off of Bella and kneeling beside the wooden chest. "Yes, God yes!"

"What have I ever done to you, Mom? Was I not a dutiful daughter? Do you not love me? Why would you do this to me?"

"Oh hush, it's only a few photos, maybe a video or two."

I looked up at her, one hundred watt smile splitting my face. "You have videos?"

The rest of the people in the room gathered around the chest as she nodded, Bella huffing and plonking herself down beside me, white hair flying everywhere.

The chest was opened and Clare pulled out a neatly folded silver blanket. The blue flames in the fireplace reflected off of its surface, giving it a blue sheen. There were darker threads of fabric crossing the blanket, creating a pattern in an almost Celtic design. It was gorgeous.

She held it almost reverently. "This is the blanket Bella was wrapped in when we found her."

I reached out a hand and touched it, trying to imagine a tiny Bella bundled up inside. She must have looked adorable. I looked to my right, catching her eye and smiling tenderly at her. She returned the smile, a tiny tint to her luminescent cheeks.

Next came what looked like a photo album, and I barely restrained myself from snatching it.

"This is the first picture we took of Bella, a few hours after we found her."

She opened it to the first page, revealing a small glossy photo. It showed Clare sitting on a wooden chair, cradling what must have been a baby Bella in her arms, amazed smile on her face.

Bella was _tiny, _her little white-topped head peeking out of the silver bundle. Her fist was grabbing onto Clare's shirt, as though she was holding her there. At the edge of the photo, Jesse's inquisitive face could be seen, an expression on her face that could only be described as 'awww'.

Esme outright cooed, hands held to her chest. "Oh she looks adorable."

"And there goes any respect I've earned as a mysterious mythical creature," Bella sighed, hanging her head.

"Go to the next one," Edward said eagerly. Baby photos weren't exactly common in our house, so seeing Bella in her formative years was an experience.

The next photo showed baby Bella sitting on Jesse's lap, staring up at her with adoring eyes. There were tiny slits cut into her little top, allowing downy wings to poke through.

"Look at your itty bitty wings," Emmett mock-cooed on the other side of Bella, picking up on her embarrassment and making good use of it. "They're all fluffy and weensy!"

Bella's eyes narrowed as dark blue lights flowed out from her back. Before my brother could react, one of the large white wings snapped out, whopping him on the back of his head and pitching him forward.

"They're not so _weensy _anymore, Emmett."

I snickered at the look on his face, a cross between shocked and insulted.

"That reminds me, you _have _to see the video of Bella's first time walking," Clare continued.

"You have it?" Rosalie asked, her natural love of children coming forth.

Micheal nodded, rummaging in the chest and pulling out a tape. "Yeah, that was a memorable occasion, for more than one reason."

"What about her first word?" Jasper spoke up. It seemed everyone was getting into this, much to Bella's mortification.

"It was actually 'pigeon'."

"Pigeon?" I looked over at the girl in question, noting the fact that she had her head in her hands at this point.

"Yeah," Micheal said as he hooked up the tape player to the TV. "We were all convinced she was about to say mommy, she had even formed the first letter, then she looked over Clare's shoulder at the pile of birds there and fairly shrieked 'pigeon'. She had a set of lungs on her for a two month old."

"Wait, she could say Pigeon when she was only two months old," Carlisle asked.

Micheal nodded, regarding a cable quizzically. "She was a very advanced baby. At that point, she was already changing her own diapers."

"Kill me now..," Bella mumbled, wings wrapping around herself to shield her from us.

"Got it." We all turned as Micheal pressed a few buttons and a picture came on-screen.

_A Bella that looked about four months old was holding onto the couch, looking around her curiously with wide eyes._

"_Micheal! Micheal, come here, I think she's about to do it." Clare's voice was frantic and full of excitement. There was a faint blur and Micheal could be seen at the edge of the screen, along with Jesse and Lee._

_Bella moved her foot an inch, then another, letting go of the couch as she moved forth._

_There was a tiny gasp, then Clare's voice came back. "Ah! She's walking, look!"_

_Bella, smiling hugely, began walking faster, every step giving her more grace and ease. She made her way over to the door on wobbly legs, stopping just before the threshold and grinning up at the camera with a smile only babies can accomplish._

_Then she blurred out the front door._

_There was complete silence for a few moments, then, "Holy crap! Bella, come back here!" The camera shook as past Clare ran out the door after her wayward daughter._

The screen went to black and I could feel my shoulders shaking as I laughed. I leaned against Bella for support as the screen came back to life, this time with an older Bella, about a year old.

_She was in the kitchen, standing on a stool so that she could reach the counter, which contained various ingredients and cooking utensils._

_This time, it was Lee's voice that came over the speakers. "Okay, everybody else is out and if I miss videotaping Bella's first attempt at cooking, Clare will kill me. Seeing a one year old baking should surprise me, but this past year has left me immune to surprises."_

_Past Bella looked up from sprinkling sugar over a yellow substance in a white dish. "Whad'are you doing?"_

"_I'm videotaping you, Bells. You know how mom is with capturing all your firsts."_

_She pointed at the dish. "Will you twy it when it's done?"_

_There was a pause. "Um…sure, I guess. What are you making, anyway?"_

"_Cwéme Bwrulée." With that she pulled out a small blowtorch from under the counter._

_The screen whirled as the camera fell to the floor, cutting out just as Lee yelled, "Bella! Give me that!"_

Lee chuckled slightly at the memory, looking at his little sister fondly. The screen changed and another picture formed. This one, by far, the weirdest.

_On one side of the room there was a cardboard cut-out of a castle, with what appeared to be a Barbie doll sitting in one of the windows. Lee stood in front of the castle dressed in a homemade green monster outfit, arms slashing as he made exaggerated roaring noises._

_A three year old Bella stood in front of him, decked out in a full knight costume, complete with little plastic sword, which she brandished at her brother with as much menace as she could muster._

"_Back vile beast! I shall slay you and rescue the Princess Iris." She swung the sword low, rolling out of the way as Lee jumped over it and swung his foam tail in her direction._

_Bella crouched down, scooping up a plastic shield and blocking the tail. Her sword lashed out and smacked Lee in the chest. He made a show of dying, clutching his chest and falling slowly to the ground._

_Before Bella could go to rescue the princess, loud spurts of laughter cut through the scene. The camera panned, taking in Jesse having convulsions on the ground, laughing so hard that she couldn't stand up._

"_You…you look ridiculous Lee!" was all she managed to get out before choking on laughter once again._

_Bella frowned, looking up at the person holding the camera. Then she grinned._

The screen cut out, then back again in a second.

_The scene was almost the same as the last time, the castle with its trapped princess still being guarded by the green Lee. However, now Bella held a shield and a spear as she sat on Jesse's back, who was kneeling on all fours._

"_Now, with my mighty steed, I shall fight the evil monster and rescue Princess Iris!" Bella announced, holding the spear aloft while Jesse made half-hearted whinnies, resigned expression on her face._

The tape ended and the screen went dark, Emmett's roaring laughter drowning out our much quieter chuckles. Even Rosalie had a smile on her face.

Jesse, on the other hand was scowling. "Oh, shut up," she grumbled, but her lips were twitching slightly.

Bella looked smug. "Not so fun now, is it, dearest sister of mine?"

"Oh, you don't want to get into this with me. I have way more embarrassing stories about you than you do about me."

"Wanna bet?"

Lee ignored his bickering mate and sister and faced me. "What about you Alice? We don't really know much about the girl our little Bella is dating?"

I sighed, knowing that this would have come up sooner or later. "Honestly, I don't really know."

The bickering stopped as Bella and Jesse looked at me, identical expressions of confusion on their faces. I had wanted to tell Bella this first, but I guess that there's no time like the present.

"I can't remember anything before I became a vampire," I said quietly. "I woke up one day as a vampire and I had no idea who I was."

Bella scooted closer to me and wrapped an arm, as well as a wing, around me, pulling me into her side. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Alice."

I leaned my head on her shoulder. "I guess neither of us really know who we are in the end, do we?"

She pressed a gentle kiss on my head. "We'll find out someday, Alice. Both of us."

Looking around at both of our families interacting as friends, fully accepting each other, I realised that even if I never found out who I used to be, it wouldn't matter, because I loved who I was right now.

It still didn't stop the feeling that ran up my spine that told me Bella was right. We would find out who we were, even if what we found was something that we wished we hadn't.

**A/N: Whoo! Another chapter of Fallen done and dusted. It's also my birthday in two days! Eighteen, here I come...**

**I'm honestly not sure if you guys even liked that one, seeing as it's very word and fact heavy, but it was necessary for the overall plot. Yes, I said overall plot. I know I've only made allusions to it in the past, but there is actually one there. I have no idea how long this story will take to finish, but we still have quite a while to go. And we will get some action soon. Yay! So leave a review and all that, they make me want to write. Or at least guilt me into writing…**

**R&R.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hello readers! I have a new chapter for you. Chapter twenty, milestone! Whoo!**

**I'm sorry, it was meant to be up on Saturday but my uncle just died from cancer, so I had to postpone writing for a while. We weren't really close, but there was family down and it would have been rude to just lock myself in my room to write. No matter how much I wanted to.**

APOV

Fashion.

Such a simple little word to describe something so important to me. And it _was _important to me, in the extreme. Now, I wasn't like a lot of fashion lovers, I didn't look at what other people wore and criticize it if it wasn't with the current trends. That was because in my opinion, fashion was about what made an _individual_ person look good.

For example, if the current trend was skinny jeans, that was all well and good for people who looked good in such attire. However, if someone looked absolutely horrible in skinny jeans, then they shouldn't wear them just because everyone else was.

That was one of the few things that I didn't like about the world of fashion. It should be individual to a person, but it wasn't. If that same person that looked terrible in skinny jeans looked great in a woolly jumper and bootleg jeans, then that was fine by me. It may not be the current trend, but that person still looked much better than the person that resembled a tennis ball with two toothpicks stuck to the bottom.

A perfect example of this was Bella.

In no way did the current trends include a black tank top and dark green combat pants, and yet she looked much better than she would have in something that wasn't _her. _The dark brown leather jacket also added to the image. I had found out that any leather clothing Bella had were faux leather, which made sense. If she couldn't bring herself to eat animals, then she would hardly wear one.

The tank top was tight, but not overly so, showing off her curves and hinting at a piece of creamy cleavage. She looked too damn good in that slightly rugged, tough-girl outfit.

Then again, I was sticking by my theory that said she would look good in a potato sack…

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to stare?"

I jerked my head up at the sound of her highly amused voice and resisted the urge to shuffle my feet. "Sorry. I was just admiring your…tank top."

Her smile widened. "Alice, if you want to stare at my chest, you don't have to feel embarrassed about it."

My mouth dropped open. "I wasn't…you…it was just…I-"

She placed one finger on my lips, effectively shutting me up. "You know Alice, I find you absolutely adorable. When we started our relationship, I was convinced that I would be the stuttering mess, but you have proven me wrong."

She removed her finger from my lips and walked over to her bed, ignoring the wooden ladder completely and simply vaulting up into it.

After a night full of baby photos, baby pictures, baby clothes and baby stories, much to Bella's horror, my family had bid the Van Allen's goodnight with promises to get together again soon. Our two families had gotten along better than I could have ever hoped and I looked forward to more family nights like last night.

When the time had arrived for me to leave, Bella and I had apparently looked so pathetically miserable at the idea that it was decided that I would just stay the night, or what was left of it because they had _a lot _of stories. I don't think I've seen my family enjoy themselves as much as that in years.

Bella and I had soon retired to her room, mainly so that we could make out without prying eyes, but also because I had wanted to see it. It had turned out to be so very _Bella, _full of mahogany wood, forest green walls and clear glass. Many bookcases lined the walls and there was a dark stone fireplace taking up one whole corner. The bed was also something that I found adorable. It was one of those that was at head height, with a wooden ladder for access with a large storage space underneath. There was also a series of platforms on the side, obviously for the cat to get up, and it had turned out to be the most comfortable thing in the world.

The reason I loved it so much though, was because it was octagonal in shape, mattress and all and when you combined that with the height and pile of fluffy blankets and pillows, it looked like a large nest.

The huge balcony with the hammock was also a nice addition. We had spent about an hour curled up in that thing, staring up at the few stars that were visible through the cloud cover. Then we had decided to take a much closer look.

"And why is that? You used to be all shy and uncertain. Had I done that a few weeks, or even days ago, you would have blushed to the high heavens."

She rolled onto her stomach, propping her head up on her fist. "I'm not even sure. Growing up with my family meant that I'm a little awkward around humans at first, but that doesn't necessarily make me shy. But when I'm around you, I just feel so comfortable that I don't really feel the need to be embarrassed."

I smiled at her, walking over to the bed before placing my hand against the smooth wood and pulling myself up. The myriad of soft blankets and pillows sank under my weight and I had to hold onto the edge so I wouldn't roll into the middle.

"I guess it makes sense. A lot of humans cling to modesty because they're ashamed of various physical imperfections, whether they are real or merely perceived, something you don't have. You were nervous at first because you didn't really know how I'd react to the real you, but now that I've shown my acceptance, you no longer let a little thing like modesty bother you."

She smacked my arm. "You make it sound like I'm walking around in my undergarments."

I grinned and rolled her onto her back, placing both hands on either side of her head. At this distance, her heavenly scent was making my mouth water in a way that had nothing to do with her blood. My throat was cool, no trace of the constant burn remaining. "Now that, I wouldn't mind."

"Well _I _would," Micheal yelled from the bottom floor even though his voice carried easily.

Bella's cheeks flushed and I couldn't resist kissing the tip of her nose. "Ah, so I see you have some common decency after all."

"Well considering the fact that I'm being pinned to my bed by my girlfriend, I would say that what little I have is quickly deteriorating."

I didn't bother replying, instead pressing my lips to hers slowly. Seeing my family engaging in such activities over the years had made me look forward to finding my mate, and she did _not _disappoint.

She pulled her lips away from mine after several moments and placed a tender kiss on my jaw, then beside my ear, then down my throat. When she nibbled gently on my pulse point, my arms relaxed of their own accord, lowering my body onto hers. My hands once again found their way into her long, wavy white hair, tugging slightly. No matter how long I did that, I was always amazed at the texture of her hair. It was thick and full, but still put the finest silk to shame. She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.

And she wanted to be with _me_.

I noticed when the temperature in the room rose and I felt slightly smug about the fact that I could make Bella feel that way. She was doing a fine job too, her hand resting on my shoulder, but going no further.

Sitting up slowly, without removing her lips from my neck, Bella slowly flipped us over, the pile of extremely fluffy blankets almost covering us.

"How much longer until we have to leave for school?" I asked, my voice much more hoarse than I remembered.

Bella moved her lips up my neck, placing a gentle nip on my earlobe and causing me to gasp. "Not for another half an hour."

I pulled her in for another kiss. Our legs were tangled together, her toned arms holding her up. She was so light that I barely felt her weight on me but before I could ponder that, my thoughts quickly went out the window.

My hands trailed up her arms and began making lazy circles in between her shoulder blades. I had very recently discovered, out on the hammock no less, that this was a very sensitive place for her and I couldn't help but grin into our kiss when I heard her groan and she shivered pleasantly.

There was a rapid series of knocks on the door, hard enough to almost cause it to crack. "Okay, time to get ready for school." Micheal's tone was tense and I could practically see the narrowed father-eyes.

Bella's next groan was definitely less fun than the first and she reluctantly broke away, moving off of me and flopping against the pillow pile. There was no head or foot of the bed, so I just assumed that that was the top.

"I guess our fun's over for the time being," she sighed, rolling off of the bed.

I followed her down and gave her a peck on the lips, making a valiant effort to not turn it into more.

"We'll pick up where we left off soon enough," I replied, finding it both amusing and frustrating that Bella's father was acting all protective. He may have been downright encouraging of our relationship, but Bella was still his little girl.

"Looks like it's your turn to use my shower and go to school dressed in my clothes." Bella's tone was equal parts smug and anticipatory.

I chuckled, moving towards the door. "Looking forward to seeing me dressed in your clothes, are you?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."

The door opened silently on well-oiled hinges and I made my way down the hall, calling back over my shoulder, "So you do have a possessive side after all."

Her laughter followed me as I entered her expansive bathroom and closed the door behind me.

BPOV

I sank my teeth into the apple in my hand, chewing slowly. The grin on my face didn't seem to want to leave and I had no problem with that.

Jesse and Lee were both in the living room, Clare was at work and Micheal was down in the basement, the sounds of stone cracking reaching our ears easily. Alice, on the other hand was sitting on the other side of the kitchen table from me, freshly showered and wearing one of my shirts and an older pair of jeans. We were basically the same size width-wise, with me being about four inches taller. As a result, she had to roll the sleeves up slightly, the hem coming down to the tops of her thighs. She looked beyond adorable and I couldn't deny the fact that I liked seeing her in my clothes.

I took another bite.

"Okay, what is with the staring? And that smirk on your face?" Alice shifted under my gaze and for added effect; I made a show of licking the sweet apple juice off of my lips. Her shifting intensified.

"Oh, you are so damn evil." She pouted and I moved my gaze to her shoulder, knowing full well that looking into her eyes when she pulled 'The Pout' was like staring into the sun.

Picking up my glass of milk, I brought it to my lips and downed it in one, humming happily as the cool liquid flowed over my tongue. "Sorry, it's just that you look so damn cute wearing my shirt."

"You know, I'm a terrifying supernatural creature, one of the things that go bump in the night. People aren't supposed to call us _cute_."

I tossed the apple core into the green bin destined for the compost heap and stood up. "See, now I make it a habit to tell the truth as much as possible. But if the term cute bothers you, how about adorable?"

She hopped up off of the chair and into my arms, prompting me to catch her before she fell on her ass. "I take offense to that. Kittens are adorable. I'm scary."

I couldn't help but laugh as I made my way towards the garage, having heard my siblings leave for the car so we could go to school. Alice was no doubt a formidable opponent, especially considering her gift, but she was still Alice to me. "Okay then my little Kitten, it's time to go to Forks High and soak up knowledge like a fuzzy little sponge."

I was at the door leading into the garage, Lee and Jesse already in the car, when Micheal came into the front room with a phone in his hand. His white shirt looked more grey now that it was covered in stone dust. His wavy black hair also looked like he had been in a wrestling match with a deranged squirrel.

"Phone call for you Bells," he stated as he handed me the device. I had to hold Alice up one-handed, but that was okay because neither of us wanted me to put her down.

"Hello, this is Bella."

The voice on the other end was deep, but had a nice smoky tenor to it. "_Hello Ms Van Allen, this is Chief Swan down at the police station_."

Ah, this must have something to do with that little 'incident' a while ago. "What can I do for you?"

"_I won't take up much of your time, but I understand that you were involved in an altercation last week?"_

"That I was. Is there a problem?"

"_Well, a friend of mine is a member of the Port Angeles Police and he's going to be visiting today. I figured you could give him your statement today while he's here instead of having to drive all the way to Port Angeles. If you're available, that is."_

I smiled into the phone. "That's very thoughtful of you Chief Swan. Is there a specific time you'd like me to be over at?"

"_School should let out at about four, so if you could swing by the station after, that'd be great."_

I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Sure thing Chief. I'll see you then."

"_Goodbye, Ms Van Allen."_

We both hung up and I handed the phone back to my father, using my now free hand to bring Alice closer.

"This isn't going to cause problems for you, is it?" she asked, concern obvious in her voice.

"Nah. It's all good." I glanced at Micheal as I walked towards the door again. "I'll see you later, Dad."

"Have a good day. Try not to get too _distracted_ in class, okay?"

"I make no promises."

The door shut behind us and we made our way to the idling Toyota. Lee and Jesse seemed to be passing the time by having a thumb war, with Jesse inevitably coming out the victor.

I set Alice down on her feet and opened the door for her, bowing as I gestured for her to enter. "My Lady."

She made a perfect curtsy, holding her hands as though she were holding up a dress. "Thank you, kind sir."

Jesse snorted from the front seat and I casually smacked her on the back of the head.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"Alice and I are engaging in some tomfoolery, an important part of a healthy relationship. You should not make any kind of inappropriate noises while this is happening and respect our blatant displays of affection."

Lee wisely chose to stay silent as he pulled the car out of the garage and made his way down the long driveway.

"And you should stop speaking like you're reading out of a dictionary. I swear, you always do that when you get angry."

I frowned. "I'm not angry." I glanced down at the tiny pixie nestled into my side and smiled. "I'm _really _not angry."

"Yeah, instead you get to be all dopey and cuddly."

"Says Ms 'Valentine's Day is one of the most important holidays'. I know just how dopey and cuddly you two can get, so don't judge me."

Alice giggled beside me, the sound like tinkling bells. "You two are ridiculous."

"I resent that," Jesse stated, meeting Alice's raised eyebrow with a mock-glare.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?"

Jesse smirked, eyes flashing to me. "Bella is my only and most loved sister. If I ask her, she won't kiss you for a whole day."

The smile fell off of Alice's face as she looked between the two of us. "You wouldn't!"

"This is no fair. You shouldn't be putting me between my girlfriend and my sister," I whined, feeling completely wronged.

Two sets of eyes narrowed. Both of them sat up straight and looked me right in the eye.

"I'm your sister," Jesse said.

"I'm your girlfriend."

"I've known you for longer than she has, seventeen years longer!"

"I can provide you with hot make-out sessions."

I was looking between the two of them like a bizarre tennis match.

"Lee, help."

He chuckled, passing out a small Ford which contained an irate Granny, if the intense fist-shaking was anything to go by. She also might have mouthed a dirty word, but it was hard to tell with her dentures and frequently pursed lips. "Leave me out of it."

"Um, well, you both mean a lot to me and I don't think that we should try to sully our relationships by putting such an obviously unwinnable situation before me," I hedged, leaning forward in my seat to see if we would get to the school any faster.

"Oh no Bella, you are going to pick right now," Jesse stated firmly, Alice nodding right along with her.

Ok, now I'm screwed. Let's just think about this. I could make an informed decision if I thought long and hard about it.

Jesse is my sister and has been there for me all my life.

Alice is a really good kisser.

Jesse saved my life on more than one occasion.

Alice is a _really _good kisser.

I sheepishly wrapped my arm around my small pixie, pulling her face to mine for a deep kiss, managing to pull away before the window melted.

Jesse gasped, putting her hand on her chest. "You wound me, dearest sister of mine! I look upon you now and see nothing but the foul visage of betrayal!"

Alice grinned and resumed her previous position, cuddled into my side. "It's not your fault Jesse, I can just give Bella something that you never could."

"And dare I ask what that might be? Your tongue down her throat, perhaps?" The question was biting, but I could see the both of them trying, and failing miserably, to hold in smiles. I, on the other hand, was trying, and also failing, to stop a blush at that last comment.

"Among other things."

I sat up and wedged myself in between them. "Ok, time out. Let's not talk about me as if I'm not here."

Alice pressed her face into the crook of my neck, placing a gentle kiss on the now overheated skin. "I always know when you're here."

"And as of right now, we're at school, so let's turn it down to at least PG-13," Lee remarked, opening the door so he could exit the car. I looked around and, sure enough, the walls of Forks High looked back. Sort of.

I opened the door and slipped out, turning back to wait for Alice. When she did, she automatically took my hand, bringing a smile to my face.

The one kid who made a less than pleasant face at our display of affection was on the receiving end of my death glare. I may be an angel, but I still had a mean death glare.

As I absently watched the kid run away, I wondered what the day would have in store for us.

**XXXXX**

"Ms Van Allen? I trust you have a satisfactory reason for not paying attention in my classroom?" Mr Hansson

I jerked my head away from the window where I had been watching two squirrels playing a game of tag in a large oak tree. Out of all of the teachers I had, Mr Hansson was the one who seemed to be the most against my choice of partners. How it was any of his business, I will never know.

"I was paying attention, sir," I replied evenly.

"Oh, well in that case, I suppose you know the answer to question fourteen?" He leaned back in his seat, looking slightly smug. I knew for a fact that he hadn't even gotten to question fourteen yet and was only trying to make me look bad. His attitude had gone from chilly to downright hostile since yesterday, but I wouldn't let it bother me. After all, at the end of the day, I had Alice and he had a six pack of beer and papers to grade.

"Well sir, you haven't gotten to question fourteen yet, but the answer is 3x+5y+4," I said calmly, feeling a sense of satisfaction over the fact that his skin went a shade darker.

Not bothering to admit he was wrong or commend me on getting the right answer, he turned back to the board. However, with my enhanced hearing I was easily able to make out the comment he made under his breath. "Unnatural bitch."

My eyes narrowed, but I managed to refrain from lighting his toupee on fire. Barely.

When the bell finally rang I was the first one out the door, eagerly making my way to home economics. For some reason, I found the class fascinating. I also loved the fact that not only was our teacher, Ms Graver, a complete hippy, she had no problem with the fact that I was dating a girl. Definitely one of the better teachers.

I slid open the door and made my way inside, taking my customary seat near the front of the class.

Ms Graver walked in just behind me, wearing a flowery purple shirt, dark green skirt and brown boots. At twenty eight, she was the youngest teacher in the school, and the only one who could pull off such an outfit.

"Oh, Bella, early as usual I see," she said cheerily, pushing her glasses up higher onto her nose.

"I wouldn't want to miss any of my favourite class, now would I?"

She laughed, placing her bag down onto the counter and taking out several white board markers. "Well, that would make you the only one."

The class didn't take long to fill up, considering the fact that there were only nineteen students all together. Ms Graver wasn't a stickler about seating arrangements, so we could sit wherever we wanted. She regularly rearranged her desk, so it really didn't surprise me.

What did surprise me, however, was when the twentieth student walked into the class. The fact that it was Alice was a pleasant revelation.

Ms Graver pushed up her glasses once again, looking at Alice in surprise. "Oh, hello dear. Can I help you with something?"

"I'm transferring to this class, Ms Graver. I was told that you had to sign this." Alice's smile was almost anticipatory as the teacher took the slip of paper and signed her name with her quill-shaped pen.

Handing back the sheet, Ms Graver smiled warmly at Alice. "I hope you enjoy the class dear, pick a seat wherever you want."

"Thank you," Alice replied, already making a bee-line for the seat next to mine. As she sat down, I saw her send a dirty look to a boy in my class, Terry Langan, scooting her chair closer to mine. Terry had never actually asked me out, but he had done a lot of staring over the past few weeks and he never seemed to be looking at my face.

"Didn't like drama class anymore, eh?" I asked her, not bothering to keep the smile off of my face. The sleeves of her shirt kept rolling down, making her seem even smaller as she tugged them back up.

"I just thought a change of pace would be nice. I haven't taken home economics in about six years." Her shrug was nonchalant, but the way her eyes kept flickering towards Terry made me think that she had had a vision. One that she didn't like.

I spent more time watching her than I did the board at the front of the class. Not that I was the only one, the other students were staring at her with a mixture of awe, envy and disgust. Ah the joys of same-sex dating during high school in a narrow-minded town.

"Now class, we only have about five more minutes, so I'm going to give you all a project that will be your homework for the next week," Ms Graver stated, walking towards the fridge. As she opened it, I caught sight of several egg containers.

Walking back to her desk, she placed the containers on her desk and opened the lids. There were two types of eggs inside, blue and pink and each had a black stamp on them, resembling a tiny little face.

"Now, we haven't really spent all that much time talking about parenting, but that is what this assignment is all about. You will pair up with your partner of choice and come up here to collect an egg and one of the diaries from the box beside my desk."

She held up one of the eggs. "These eggs are in place of babies. You will take care of your egg as if it were a newborn. And before you all think about putting your egg in the fridge and forgetting about it, you will have to fill the diary with your actions in regards to the egg. What time you fed it, or changed it, or how long you spent time with it. Everything you do with your egg, you write down in the diary. This also includes clothing and sleeping arrangements. I expect to see little baby clothes on them when you turn them in."

She fixed all of us with a hard stare. "Also, do not foist your egg off onto your partner. It is a team effort, you will both be the parents of this egg and you will act like it. That means swapping the egg every second night and equal responsibilities. Now, choose your partners and come and pick your egg."

As soon as her tirade was over, the students stared at each other in bewilderment. She clapped her hands. "Come on now, we haven't got all day."

They all hopped up, eager to get a good partner before everyone was paired up. I turned to Alice, eyebrow raised. "Alice, did you switch classes so that you could be the mother of my egg?"

She shuffled her feet, looking at me a tad sheepishly. "Maybe. But if I hadn't, then Terry would have and that just wasn't going to work for me."

Almost as if her words had summoned him, Terry Langan walked up to me, smile on his face. "Hey Bella, I'm Terry." He held out his hand for me to shake, but since he had ignored Alice as if she didn't exist, I merely looked at it. Pulling it back, he smiled at me again. "So, you wanna have a kid together?"

Did he really just say that? Thank God for Alice and her visions.

"No thanks Terry, I already have a partner." To emphasize my point, I wrapped my arm around Alice and smiled at him.

"But she's a girl," he said, as if I hadn't noticed or forgot or something.

I frowned and turned to look at Alice, glancing down at her chest. I clapped my hand to my mouth and gasped. "Oh my God, you're right!" I shot her a wounded look. "Alice, why didn't you tell me?"

She snickered and butted me with her shoulder. "Come on, let's go get our egg."

"Now hold on, two girls can't have a kid together," he persisted, following us as we walked up to the head of the class.

"Not biologically, but they can always adopt. We'll have an adopted egg, but we'll love him or her as if they were our own."

"Look, you can't-"

I cut him off by calling out to Ms Graver. "Ms, is it okay if Alice and myself are partners for this project."

Her head whipped towards me, almost making her glasses fly over to the other side of the room. "Of course dear. You can just change the 'Father's Duties' section to another 'Mother's Duties' section. Now, would you like a boy or a girl?" This shut Terry up and I watched as he stormed off, looking for a partner that hadn't paired up yet.

Alice and I exchanged glances. "Girl," we said in unison.

I grabbed the diary as Alice picked up the tiny pink egg, cradling it gently. By the time we had sat back down in our seats, everyone had picked an egg and was holding them as though they were about to explode.

"I've never done this project before." She plucked a scarf from her bag and I watched as she fashioned a make-shift cradle for the little thing.

"I took care of a crow's egg before when the nest was destroyed, but that was actually alive. This is just an egg."

"Yes, but it's _our _egg."

I laughed. "Fine, but Jesse and Emmett are going to have a field day."

**XXXXX**

I patiently drank from my juice box as I waited for Emmett to stop laughing. The others at the table all had smiles on their faces, Jesse was even chuckling, but Emmett found the whole thing the most amusing.

He managed to get himself under control, only to look up at Alice holding the egg and completely lose it again.

"Emmett, it's really not that funny," I said, trying to calm him down. His loud laughter was turning more than one head.

"Sorry, it's just…" That was all he managed to get out before dissolving into a fit of giggles again. It took two more minutes and a lot of help from Jasper before he stopped convulsing in his seat.

"Are you quite finished?" Alice asked, eyebrow raised. I loved it when she raised her eyebrow, it made her look sexy as hell.

"Y-yeah, I'm good," he gasped, wiping a non-existent tear of mirth from his eye.

"So you guys have to take care of an egg for a week?" Lee asked, absently poking a bowl full of…something with his fork.

"Yup. And I get to make little egg clothes and a little egg cradle and little egg diapers."

"Getting a little carried away, aren't we Alice? Do you even have a name for it yet?" Lee abandoned the fork and leaned back in his seat.

I looked over at Alice. "Yeah, we have to pick a name for it."

"How about Ashley?" she suggested.

"Or Zoey?"

"Oh, what about Cory?"

"I like it. Cory it is."

"Yeah, but Cory what? Is she a Van Allen or a Cullen?"

"For God's sake, you two, it's an _egg_," Rosalie stated, looking torn between amusement and annoyance.

Alice wrapped her arm around my shoulders and leaned into my side. "But it's _our _egg," she repeated.

Rosalie merely rolled her eyes and dropped the subject.

It was decided that Alice would take care of Cory for the rest of the school day. She had to put it in her locker so we could go to gym, but barring a ravenously hungry person with a fondness for scrambled eggs finding it, it should be fine.

Gym itself was…interesting. Both of us had decided to change on opposite sides of the locker room, lest we accidentally forget what we were doing there in the first place. That left me with a random group of girls that seemed to be afraid that I would jump them the moment they took off their shirts. In an effort to save them from their own torrid imaginations, I had moved closer to the wall and turned my back.

That didn't stop Beth Muldrige, a girl who made Lauren look like an intelligent, compassionate individual, from accusing me of looking at her with my 'dyke eyes'. If I hadn't found the prospect so hilarious, then I would have been offended. After explaining to her just why I wasn't the least bit interested in her, namely that I was dating Alice Cullen and Beth herself looked like the back end of a pit bull, she quickly left me alone. It was a little mean, but she started it…

By the time the school day ended, I was getting tired of the looks I was receiving from several of the student body. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all of them. In fact, the number of people who seemed to have a problem was less than those who didn't care, or who approved. Unfortunately, the people who disapproved were the more vocal of the two groups.

"So, you're going to the police station now, right?" Alice asked.

I nodded. "Yes. It's about time too, they're usually much faster about these things."

"And you're sure this isn't going to cause any problems for you?"

I turned to face her, seeing over her shoulder her family piling into their car. "Not a one, people don't usually spend much time being suspicious about the good guy."

"Then how will you explain being able to take out four grown men and not get a scratch on you?"

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, giving her a deep kiss to tide me over for the coming hours of no Alice. "They were four heavily intoxicated men and I've been taking karate lessons for years at my father's request. He worries about me."

She smiled. "Nice."

"Works every time." I sighed. "I should get moving. Want to swing by my place tonight?"

She backed away towards her car, grinning, egg still in hand. "Of course, Ms Graver did say that parenthood was a team effort. It wouldn't be right of you to make me take care of little Cory all by myself, now would it?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Once again, we kept eye contact until we were out of sight of each other. The trip to the police station was made in silence, not out of any sense of worry or nervousness, simply because we didn't really have anything to say.

The station itself was a small affair, which was not surprising, it being Forks and all. A simple two story building with a bronze sign attached to it's white-painted walls telling any who cared to look that this was, in fact, the whole police force of their sleepy little town.

"Do you want us to come in with you?" Jesse asked, looking towards the building with interest.

"No need, this shouldn't take long."

The door to our car opened soundlessly, a testament to the frequent oil applications it underwent. The same couldn't be said for the front door of the building, a black monstrosity that would no doubt keep out any unsavoury characters.

The creaking sound alerted the tall, thin man behind the counter, distracting him from the game of football playing on the small television hidden under the counter.

"Hello there, can I help you with anything Ms...?"

"Van Allen, and yes, you can. I'm looking for the police officer who arrived here from Port Angeles. I have to make a statement."

He nodded, switching off the TV and standing up. Making his way around the counter, her gestured towards a brown door on the other side of the room. "If you'll just follow me, I'll lead you right to him."

Being a small building, it only took less than a minute to make it to the back rooms. Several officers were there, working on various things or just lounging. I spotted what must have been Chief Swan, if his badge was anything to go by, talking to a beefy man of medium height and smooth blond hair. His uniform differed from the others, so I assumed that this was the officer from Port Angeles.

"Chief, the girl you told us about is here," my companion said, gesturing towards me.

"Thanks Hank, we'll take it from here," the Chief replied, shaking my hand in greeting. He was a stocky man, with deep brown eyes, his brown hair liberally splashed with grey. "Ms Swan, thank you for coming down. This is my good friend from the Port Angeles police department, Gerry Winson."

I held out my hand for the man to take. He had a strong grip, but it was still gentle. He was obviously mindful of his strength and trying not to hurt me. I did give the impression of being slightly waifish, so I didn't blame him, though I did find it rather funny.

"Nice to finally meet you, Ms Van Allen. Young Ms O' Malley has been talking non-stop about you."

I smiled. "How is she?"

"She's doing great, actually. A little shaken up, but that's to be expected. As a matter of fact, she just enrolled in self-defence classes."

"That's great, I'm glad."

Chief Swan stepped forward and pointed to another door to the left of us. "You'll have some privacy in there, it's an old interrogation room that doesn't get much use, but it should serve well enough."

I thanked him and followed Mr Winson as he entered the room. It was small, almost ridiculously so, with faded white walls and a small window opposite the door. I sat down on the small metal seat closest to the window and made sure it was in my line of sight as he closed the door behind us.

It hadn't really come as much of a surprise to anyone in my family when I had turned out to be claustrophobic. I managed cars fine, but I would do everything in my power to avoid getting into an elevator, or a small room with no windows, or any kind of underground cave.

"Now, the case is pretty much air-tight, so this statement is really just a formality. It shouldn't take long." He placed a pad of paper, a pen and a tape recorder on the small metal table.

The questions were pretty simple, 'How did you come across the scene?' 'Exactly who was doing what?' 'How did a young woman such as you manage to subdue four assailants with no damage to yourself?' The last question was more for his personal curiosity because he didn't have any reason to suspect foul play on my part.

"My father is big on self-defence. I've been taking a variety of martial arts lessons for most of my life," I replied.

He nodded, absently scribbling something on his pad. "That's good. It would save everybody a lot of pain if more young people took an interest in protecting themselves. Not that it'd do much against a wild animal, but still. It doesn't hurt to know how to fight off an assailant."

I perked my head up at this. In my eagerness to get to know Alice, and the Cullen's eagerness to figure me out, neither of us had paid enough attention to the killings in Port Angeles. Might as well do a little digging while I was there.

"That animal still on the loose then?"

"Unfortunately, yes. A young couple just got attacked last night while they were camping on the outskirts of Lake Crescent. A damn shame, if you ask me."

"Yeah, a shame," I said quietly.

I barely paid attention to Mr Winson as he thanked me for my time and made his leave. My mind was elsewhere. Lake Crescent was just east of Port Angeles, right up against the Olympic Highway. Couple that with the fact that the previous victim had been found near Maple Grove, then that suggested that whatever it was, animal or vampire, was following the highway.

It also meant that it was heading straight for Forks.

**A/N: Well, another chapter done and dusted. I'm not entirely sure about this one, writer's block screwed up my process but, what can you do?**

**Also, I've had inquiries about when I'll next update and I know full well the annoyance of waiting for a chapter and not knowing when it's coming, so I've made a few adjustments to my profile. In the 'Stories' section under Fallen, there is a Percent Completed section, that will show you my progress on my next chapter. When it gets to 100%, a new chapter is born!**

**As always, Read and Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I know, I know, I'm a horrible person and deserve to be shot! It's just I've finally gotten broadband that's fast enough to let me watch any TV show I want instantly, and I got a little carried away…I'm talking Lost Girl (with some Doccubus action, go Doctor Hot Pants!) and Star Trek Voyager (Seven of Nine, no need to say more) and Sanctuary, and Warehouse 13 and Farscape and Haven and Bones and Fringe and yes, I have actually watched all of those since I updated last, but I feel really guilty and I want to write dammit!**

**Also, my cat Diego has gone missing a week ago. Have any of you had cats that have gone missing and how long did it take them to come back, because I'm really worried.**

BPOV

I've never really given much thought to the world of war. It's always seemed kind of silly to me. I mean, don't get me wrong, not everybody involved in war are idiots, some people have no choice in the matter and for them it's either fight or die. God knows I've had to once or twice. But I've always been a firm believer that if people just sat down and talked for a while, a lot of the world's conflicts would be resolved.

Probably naïve in the grand scheme of things, but it didn't stop me from giving the vampire in front of me a chance.

"Just put it down. It doesn't have to be this way." My voice was calm, soothing in the hopes that he wouldn't do anything drastic. The woods around us were, for once, silent, almost as though the creatures were waiting for the outcome. It was still dark, too early in the morning for any kind of proper illumination.

"There's no other choice. I have my orders," he responded, tone resigned.

My eyes narrowed, fingers tightening their grip on the weapon in my hands. "Screw your orders. This is wrong. It shouldn't have to end this way."

His head shook furiously. "You don't understand! You don't know what'll happen to me if I fail."

My heart tinged with sympathy. I knew exactly what would happen to him if he didn't complete his mission. But I still couldn't let it happen. Too much was on the line.

At that moment, I sensed another one of them behind me, moving silently closer on light feet. Had my ears not been conditioned to filter out the screeching wind during flight to pick up on the sounds below, I would never have heard it.

I tensed, ready to move at a moment's notice while still keeping my eyes on the one in front of me. His grip tensed on his own weapon, ready to end it all.

One in front, one behind, both with their sights on me. I was trapped.

That's when I heard it. The tiny 'crick' that signified the one behind me was about to attack. At the last second, I used my enhanced speed to dive to the left, twisting my head back to see the paintballs destined for me hit Emmett and Edward. They jerked back, surprised that they had been shot by each other now that I had moved out of their line of fire.

I barely stopped myself from bursting out laughing as Emmett let loose a howl of anguish, red paint splattered on his chest. "Why? Bella, you know that Rosalie is competitive! Now that I lost, I won't be getting sex for a week. A whole week!"

Edward scowled at me through his own face-full of paint. Both he and Emmett were the same team and now I had artfully orchestrated a situation in which they ended up shooting each other.

Ah, the joys of paintballing.

Before either of them got any ideas down the line of revenge, I rolled to my feet and took off into the woods.

"Emmett and Edward are out. I repeat, Emmett and Edward are out," I whispered into the small headset I was wearing, watching the terrain around me. It was raining and I was liberally smothered in mud, but damn, was I having fun.

"Fantastic," Alice's voice responded, making me feel all tingly inside. "Nice work sweetie."

We had originally started out Van Allens vs. Cullens, but when me and Alice came up against each other we had been unable to pull the trigger and had…accidentally ended up making out against a tree while everyone else shot us. Totally worth it, but not very constructive towards winning a game.

We had then decided to add Alice to the Van Allen side to make the teams even, six against six. They were red, we were blue. Surprisingly, it hadn't taken as long to convince Esme and Carlisle to play as I thought it would. Alice had turned out the puppy-dog eyes and they had wilted like un-watered flowers in the Sahara. It was scary.

I picked up the pace, leaping up into a tree and pushing off of it, using the foliage to shield me from any lurking enemies. So far, we were winning, having lost none to their two.

A twig cracked and I froze on the next branch, eyes wide and ears straining. I gripped my paintball gun as tightly as I could without breaking it. The moss on the tree trunk beside me filled the air with a musty scent, on the verge between pleasant and unpleasant.

The sound of a heart beat came next and I relaxed before moving on, confident in the fact that nobody in our group other than me _had_ a heartbeat.

I was close to the border between the wolves and my family when my headset came to life again.

"Bella! We need help," Jesse gasped, the sounds of running footsteps and the 'puff' of the paintballs easily carrying over the mike.

"Yeah, Jesse and I are trapped. Carlisle and Japer have us pinned. We lost Lee," Alice continued, sounding stressed and amused at the same time.

"Dammit Bella, we need air support!"

At the sound of my sister's voice I pushed off of the branch and shot up into the air. I quickly materialized and unfurled my wings.

"What's your position?" I pushed my wings down powerfully and scanned the woods below. The darkness would stop humans from spotting me, but not vampires.

"Near the clearing where you told me your secret. They're above us on the cliff edge and if we move out of our cover to leave, they'll have us." Usually, a vampire could easily outrun the paintballs, but we had ours custom made. They were harder and much faster than normal and you had to know exactly where they were coming from to avoid them. They would also seriously injure a human and they friggin' hurt.

I tipped my left wing down drastically, turning on a dime and sweeping over the trees at ridiculous speeds. Thankfully, the rain didn't obscure my vision or slow me down, so in moments, I was above the clearing.

I could see Alice and Jesse crouching behind a large boulder, backs against a rock face. Like the rest of us, they wore camouflage overalls and face masks for unnecessary protection, with a blue cloth tied around their arms to signify teams.

Jasper and Carlisle were lying on their stomachs, eyes peering through the sights lined up with my mate and sister. I grinned, hovering in place as I aimed carefully.

Jasper let out a surprised squawk when the blue ball hit him in the butt, rolling over quickly to see where it had come from. When he spotted me hovering twenty feet above him smiling cheerily, he elbowed Carlisle and pointed.

As Alice's father, looking extremely strange in fatigues, turned over and aimed, I banked quickly, dodging the bullet. He went for another, but quickly froze as a blue splat appeared on the side of his head. I didn't even have to look to know that it was Clare, hiding expertly in the trees. The woman was like a ninja. "Ha!" I crowed, swooping down towards Alice. I landed quickly and dove behind the boulder, landing beside her and nudging her with my shoulder.

"This is so much fun," she laughed, wiping rain out of her eyes. "I can't believe we've never tried it before."

"Gee, I wonder why," Rosalie grumbled as she walked past our boulder, three separate splats covering her suit.

Alice giggled and I turned to look at her. She looked beyond adorable wearing her camouflage suit and toting around a huge rifle that was almost bigger than she was. Her hair was plastered to her head with droplets running down her face, swatches of mud covering various parts of her body.

Micheal came out of the woods soon after, red splat on his chest. "Game's over. Esme got me and Clare got her. Van Allens win!" Esme and Clare came out after him, talking in low tones and laughing regularly. Clare was walking with a skip in her step, holding her gun over her shoulder in a practised manner, while Esme was holding hers at her side with much less familiarity.

It wasn't long before Carlisle and Jasper made their way to their respective mates, the elder Cullen with a strange look on his face.

"You okay Mr C?" I asked, more than slightly amused. When he had first come out into the woods wearing his uniform and carrying his gun as though he wasn't sure which end to point with, I had found myself chuckling along with everyone else.

He turned to face me, holding up his rifle as though it would explain everything. "I'm almost four hundred years old and here I am playing paintball in the mud."

Micheal whistled sympathetically. "I know just how you feel, but thanks to Bella, we're used to this kind of thing. It wouldn't have been fair to actually act our ages when you have a child that can't mingle with others her age for long periods of time."

He sighed, small smile on his face. "I still feel slightly ridiculous in this outfit."

I shrugged. "There's no reason to. Don't let your apparent age and actual maturity stop you from having fun. Have you ever gone paintballing before?"

He shook his head slowly. "No."

"Well there you go. What's the point of having immortality if you're not going to try new things? You should live life to the fullest Mr C, otherwise you're just existing."

He rubbed his chin, obviously thinking about what I had said. "You're right. And it was actually rather fun." He wrapped his arm around his equally muddy, but slightly less out-of-place mate.

In response, I found my own eyes drifting to my significant other while Emmett poked fun at his father figure.

"Did I ever say how cute you look in that suit?" I asked, slightly breathless and not from exertion.

She smiled, biting her lip. "Did I ever say how great you look with wet hair?" Her gun dropped to the floor and she stepped closer.

"No, I don't think you did." My voice was slightly husky as my own gun fell beside hers.

"I guess I'll just have to show you, then," she whispered, reaching up and pulling my head down to hers. Our lips met slowly and I felt the same sense of delight and wonder as I did during our first kiss. Her lips parted slightly, invitingly and I accepted eagerly, exploring her mouth as she moved her hand to my hair, pushing me against the boulder we had used for cover.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me, trying to get her as close as possible. I kept tight rein on the fire inside of me, both literal and figurative, resisting the urge to pick her up and run to my room where we could just-

A paintball hit me in the side of the face.

We both froze, pulling away from each other and turning in unison to the grinning Emmett.

My left eye twitched. How many times could two people be interrupted until they both cracked? His grin faded and left as he took in our expressions.

"Um…sorry?"

My rifle was still too far away, so I grabbed one of the paint filled bags attached to our belts to be used as 'grenades' and struck with perfect aim. The ball hit him right in the face.

Not bothering to wait for his reaction, I pulled Alice to me again, brushing a wisp of her dark hair away from her smiling face. "Now, where were we?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

I'm not gonna deny the fact that I'm a nerd. I loved comic books, I played chess frequently with my sister, read a great deal more than most people would consider normal. But most of all, I loved learning. I didn't have just one specific area of interest when it came to learning, it could honestly be anything, from physics, to how to bake the perfect muffin.

This love of learning naturally meant that I enjoyed school immensely when there was something new to learn. To Kill A Mockingbird was one of the few classics that I hadn't read in my childhood. Having a mother that spent her human years as the curator of a huge library meant that this was a rare thing, but we just hadn't gotten around to it. Our English teacher, Mr Mason, had decided that he would forgo the usual Wuthering Heights and mix it up a bit by introducing a different book and I had been excited.

This is why it came as such a surprise that, despite the fact that Mr Mason was reading the first chapter with the type of gusto that just wasn't present in long-term teachers, I wasn't hearing a word he said.

It wasn't a collection of things which caused my…distraction, rather one pixie-shaped one. For some reason, Alice had chosen to change into a dark blue skirt and simple white shirt after our impromptu paintballing session.

Now, I had seen Alice in a skirt before, but somehow this particular one was turning my usually fine-tuned and well-organized brain to mush.

Judging from the smug look on her face-spied when I was actually _looking _at her face-she knew this fact very well and had most likely planned on it.

The entire experience was almost disconcerting for me, a person who had almost zero sexual responses prior to meeting Alice. Then again, a lot of different things had been happening since I had met her.

"Ms Van Allen, am I boring you?"

I jerked violently in my seat, the pen that I had been using to tap my unopened book flying across the room as I blurted the first thing that came to mind, which unfortunately happened to be "Yes."

Seeing his slowly raised eyebrow, I ran over the last few seconds and, realizing my error, quickly amended my statement. "I mean no! Of course you're not boring me." I swished my hand in a negligent gesture to reinforce my statement, sending my copy of To Kill A Mockingbird tumbling to the ground.

He lowered his head so that he could look at me over the rims of his black glasses as I snapped my book up off the floor. "Then would you care to share your musings with the rest of the class, seeing as they're so much more interesting than the works of Harper Lee?"

I shifted in the hard plastic seat, my eyes flickering to Alice, then back again. "Um, I'm gonna have to say no to that."

He rolled his eyes and released a long suffering sigh, turning back to the board. "In that case, pay attention."

I nodded sharply, barely restraining myself from saluting. "Yes Sir."

Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Alice hunching her shoulders, obviously vastly amused by my predicament.

"Well, I hope you're happy with yourself," I grumbled, too low for human ears to hear while taking care to keep at least one eye on the book that I had finally opened.

"Don't blame me," she responded, amusement clear in her voice, "You're the one who just spent the last thirty minutes with your eyes glued to my-"

"Now, now," I interrupted swiftly, "let's not make accusations about who was staring at what."

"Bella, sweetie, it's not so much an accusation as it is a statement of fact. You weren't exactly being subtle about it."

Forcing myself not to coo at the way she called me 'sweetie', I resolutely crossed my arms and turned my head to the board where Mr Mason was writing notes.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I can be very subtle. Otherwise, you would have known that I was attracted to you _way _before that night on the boardwalk."

I probably should have guessed that Alice would have taken that as a challenge. Had I, I most likely would have done my best to ignore her when I heard her 'accidentally' drop her pen. The inevitable result was that I, being seated directly behind her, was privy to a most tantalizing view when she stretched down to pick it up.

Feeling an unexpectedly strong flash of heat course through me, I almost launched out of my seat when the corner of my notebook abruptly caught fire. My surprised gaze was locked onto the bright blue, and thankfully small, flame as it ate it's was towards my sparse notes, before I came to my senses and smacked it out with my hand, a tiny 'poof' of ash fluttering over the edge of my desk.

"Stop that!" I snapped at it, probably a little _too _loud.

Silence pervaded the small room and I reluctantly looked up to see the entire class staring at me, the crazy girl half-out of her seat who was berating and beating the furniture.

Mr Mason merely crossed his arms and leaned against his desk, one eyebrow raised in question.

I lowered myself back into my seat with a nervous chuckle. "Man, the spiders around here are the size of small cats."

He sighed once and went back to his notes, displaying a patience that few other teachers had, while I sank lower in my chair, promising to ignore Alice for the rest of the class period.

Her amused chuckle didn't help.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"You set your notebook on fire?" Jesse's voice didn't seem to know whether it wanted to be amused or horrified.

I fiddled with my mashed potatoes, digging small holes with my spork and filling them in with mashed carrots before covering them up again.

"It's really not as bad as it sounds," I mumbled.

"Not as bad as it sounds? 'Cause it sounds like you set your notebook on _fire_! In the middle of class! What if someone had seen you?"

"Firstly, I didn't exactly do it on _purpose_. Secondly, I was sitting at the back of the class so nobody saw me, and thirdly…it was only a small one."

Lee dropped the straw that he had been bending into a straw and leaned forward, his long hair obscuring his eyes for a moment. "You didn't do it on purpose?"

I gave him an affronted stare. Why would I want to set my notebook on fire?

He realized this and waved his hand apologetically. "Not that you would, it's just that you haven't set anything on fire since that unfortunate incident with the unicycle."

I could see Alice out of the corner of my eye mouthing the word 'unicycle', an expression of complete bewilderment on her face. It was adorable, but I didn't have the time, or inclination to enlighten her. It was an embarrassing event for everyone involved.

"I just got…distracted for a minute," I sighed.

"With?" Jesse prompted.

My eyes, traitorous organs that they were, immediately gravitated towards Alice.

Emmett's booming laugh silenced the whole cafeteria, the inhabitants pausing to watch aptly as he struggled to stifle what could only be described as manly giggles. I didn't even know that there _was _such a thing as a manly giggle, but there you go. He got himself under control with a helping elbow from Rosalie and the students gradually turned back to their own conversations.

"Distracted, eh?" He waggled his dark eyebrows suggestively and if I hadn't been so distracted by their distinct resemblance to dancing caterpillars, I would have flicked him with one of my peas.

I had gotten used to our new routine, Van Allen and Cullen families gathering around the biggest table to have lunch and talk shop. Being a rather cloistered child, for obvious reasons, I found it refreshing to have a new group of interesting individuals to converse with. Or in Edward's case, be stared at by. I know he meant no offence, but he stared at me with such attention, it was obvious that he expected me to start breakdancing on water at any moment.

"Does everything have to take on a sexual tone with you?" I asked.

"Your affronted tone of voice would have carried more weight if you were actually looking at me and not making goo-goo eyes at my sister."

Alice and I turned our eyes guiltily back to the other occupants at the table.

"In Bella's defence, it's not entirely her fault. I chose this skirt because I know she loves this shade of blue," Alice sounded entirely too happy about that fact. "I just happen to look utterly fantastic in it."

Jasper chuckled. "Come now Alice, I thought that _Rosalie _was the vain one in the family."

"Well, let's be honest, if _you _were the one to bag an angel, you'd be pretty damn satisfied with yourself too."

"Oh, so now you've _bagged me_, have you?"

She turned to me, her eyes twinkling. "Well, if the shoe fits."

That outfit really did look beautiful on her. Although I'm still not sure why it was distracting me so much, it was actually pretty modest. It's not like she was parading around naked…oh, distraction.

The sound of snapping fingers pulled me out of my reverie. I jerked in my seat, my subconscious now choosing a spork to launch across the room. It hit a passing sophomore on the back of the head and I had to stop myself from whistling nonchalantly when he looked around the room for the culprit.

"Honestly Bella, are you sure that this is just Alice-related fantasising and not something more serious? You've been acting really strange lately." Jesse handed me her spork and her fruit cup which I happily opened and dug into. "And that's not even taking into account the fact that you've been sleeping more frequently and have a larger appetite."

"She's right," Lee put in. "Usually you eat about a quarter the amount of food a human would consume. Now you eat about half."

I glanced down, noticing that half the fruit cup was gone already. "Well, now that you mention it, I've been feeling a bit weird lately." I caught the worried looks Lee and Jesse exchanged with Alice and cut them off before they could ask anything else. "But nothing serious. I've just been a bit tense."

"You worried about it too?" Alice's voice was quiet, all traces of humour gone.

I chewed slowly, weighing my response. "About what?" I had a feeling I knew exactly what she was talking about, but like the others, I would have preferred it didn't exist. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.

Alice glanced around the table. "What we've been hoping to ignore since yesterday."

"Alice," Edward started, methodically folding his unused napkin. "There's no surety that this…person will follow the pattern and arrive in Forks."

"That's just wishful thinking Edward, and you know it. The wolves told us last night that they had picked up a vampire scent when they went to check out Maple Grove. There is no point in burying our head in the sand."

I sighed and placed my spork down on the worn plastic table. "I still have some hope that the vampire in question will pick up the wolves scent and leave."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Both of our families have…dealt with interlopers before. Besides, with the way Sam sounded on the phone last night, the wolves are practically chomping at the bit to go out and hunt. It might actually get taken care of long before it reaches Forks."

"Maybe, but we don't know anything about this vampire and I don't want to make any assumptions."

"I'm going to La Push tonight, if they have any plans, they'll probably tell me then."

Alice sat up straighter. "Are you sure you can do this?"

I smiled, placing my hand over hers. "I would never have made this promise unless I was sure I could heal Emily."

She scooched her chair closer. "I know. I just don't like the idea of you being over there alone."

"Well, I don't have to be alone. Sam said that you could come too."

Her delicate eyebrows shot up to her hairline as everyone else made disbelieving noises. "Let me get this straight. The vampire-hating wolves told you that I, a vampire, could come over to their land?"

I nodded. "Apparently mates are a big thing with the wolves, what with their whole mating for life thing. They love me right now and you're my mate, so while they probably won't lavish you with flowers and sing your praises, they won't try to kill you."

Alice blinked, her long thick lashes touching her porcelain cheeks for a split second before sweeping back up. "How lovely."

"How do we know we can trust them?" Rosalie liked the wolves the least and seemed to frequently point that out.

"What, you think this is some convoluted ploy so they can get their hands on Alice?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "They wouldn't do that."

She pinned me with a stare. "Are you sure?"

"Rosalie, if there was even a slight chance that they would hurt Alice, I would never go over there with her. With the exception of Paul, I trust them."

Jesse shook her head, red hair trailing over her shoulder. "I don't think even the other wolves trust that guy. He's unhinged."

"He's also very undisciplined in a fight. He just charges, counting on his strength and ferocity to incapacitate an opponent. He shows no skill or forethought whatsoever and is relatively easy to take down. I wouldn't discount him if it came to a confrontation, but I wouldn't be shaking in my boots either."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big bad wolf," Alice purred, sounding way too…erotic than was good for either of us.

"Down girl," I joked, keeping my eyes locked onto hers.

"So, when are you going over?" Lee's question was a little louder than the rest of our sub vocal conversation, obviously his attempt to break us apart before something else caught on fire. Either that or he had contracted a bad case of over-protective older brother syndrome.

I pulled back, absently wondering if Alice and I would ever be able to…consummate our relationship without me blowing up the entire house. "Straight after school. The sooner I get it done, the sooner Emily can come back from her 'recovery'. I highly doubt Sam will be happy to be apart from her for so long."

Alice rubbed my shoulder soothingly. "This is a good thing you're doing for her."

I smiled at her, wondering why, if it was such a good thing, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

APOV

I always loved watching Bella, no matter what she was doing, but watching her drive a car was downright adorable. She always had both hands firmly on the steering wheel, except when she needed to change gears. They were also always the exact same distance apart, no matter which part of the wheel her hands were on. Her legs were straight, never leaning sideways and her posture would make a soldier green with envy. She wasn't rigid, despite her position, it was more like she was slouching in an incredibly orderly fashion.

"Why is it we can't stop staring at each other?" Bella asked, sounding genuinely curious about my answer. Then again, Bella was always curious about my answers. She always gave me her full attention and when she spoke to you, you just knew that she was fully committed to the conversation.

"I believe it's called the 'puppy-dog' phase. It usually involves copious amounts of staring, statements that could only be described as sappy, romantic gestures and general feelings of euphoria." At Bella's raised eyebrow, I shrugged lightly. "I saw Jasper and Edward go through it."

Bella laughed, the sound melodious. "_That _must have been fun."

My lips pulled into a grimace. "Not when you're the only unmated member in a family full of couples." My voice turned quiet. "It's hard to be alone for so long."

Bella took her right hand off of the steering wheel and gently placed it on mine. "You're not alone anymore."

I felt a deep swell of happiness spread out through my body and my face split into a grin. She was still driving so I probably shouldn't have lunged at her and wrapped myself around her like a vampiric octopus, but I couldn't help myself. And she certainly didn't seem to be complaining.

Her laugh rand throughout the car again and I knew that I would never tire of hearing that sound.

Our moment eventually came to an end and I pulled back, after delivering several kisses to her conveniently placed neck. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat that sounded like a cross between a purr and a groan, her skin vibrating against my lips.

"How-how's Cory?" Her voice was a little hoarse and I found myself smiling once again. I loved that I had that effect on her. "Emmett didn't squash her, did he?"

"Oh no, he knows that if he screwed with our egg, he'd have to pay the price. She's fine. I made her seven outfits, one for each day of the week. She's wearing Tuesday right now."

"You really do enjoy making clothes, don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do. In fact, now that I have you here, you get to be my own personal mannequin. I have an entire range of clothes I want to try out. Some for your disguised form, and some for your natural form. The necessity for discreet slits in the back will make it difficult, but I like a challenge."

"For some reason, that sounded vaguely ominous."

I smirked. "Oh don't worry; it's your first time so I'll go easy on you."

"I'm assuming that you'll have to take many, many measurements of various different body parts for this to be successful?" Oh boy.

Before I could make my reply, a foul stench wafted through the open window, making my teeth click together with a loud snap. My face twisted into a disgusted grimace and I twisted, burying my face into Bella's shoulder. Ah sweet relief.

"Do they really smell that bad to you?"

My response was muffled, but I had absolutely no intention of removing my face from my own personal air freshener. "Yes. It smells like someone left old garbage out in the sun for a week, then poured sour milk all over it and then died right beside it. It's not as bad when they meet us on our land, but here their stench pervades everything."

"And are you going to keep your face attached to my shoulder for the entire trip?"

"Most likely. Although, after a while, your scent shields theirs even if I'm not this close."

Since the only thing I could see was a close-up of Bella's grey shirt, I had to rely on my ears to pinpoint our location. I could hear various people up ahead, and judging by their deep voices and slightly growly undertones, they were wolves. Six of them, and several humans.

I opened one eye and peeked out, making sure to keep my lower face close to Bella. The reservation was fairly big, but most of it was taken up with forestry and natural areas. Many of the houses were secluded, surrounded by trees and the Blacks residence was no different.

It was a small, red building made of wood, beautifully crafted with that hand-built look. The driveway was more like a gap in the trees long enough for a car to get through. A large field filled the space where a back garden usually rested and a rushing sound indicated the presence of a stream nearby. It was actually a very beautiful place. If only we could get those damn dogs off the front lawn, then we'd be all set.

Twelve pairs of eyes turned towards us as we got out of the car. I noticed that they viewed Bella with open welcome, and me with open suspicion and vague hostility. Understandable, but still annoying.

"Bella!" Seth bounded forth and swept Bella up into a huge hug, her feet leaving the ground entirely. I twitched beside him, the vampire aspect of me disliking him being so close. If I had my way, Bella would carry around a foot long stick with her and if she could stretch her arm out and touch someone with that stick, then they were too close. However, the more rational side of me understood that this was irrational.

"Hey Seth, how you been?" Bella sounded completely amused at his antics and I could see that they would become great friends.

"Pretty good. This place has been a non-stop party ever since you put the whammy on Mr Black." At that point he noticed that I was there and offered me a big grin, taking me slightly aback. "Hey Alice, nice to see you." His tone of voice said that he was being sincere, he was honestly happy to see me.

"Um, you too, Seth. Although I'm a little bit surprised that you're being so cordial towards me, seeing as we're mortal enemies and all."

He waved his hand. "Nah, I never really hated you guys. " He gingerly patted me on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Besides, you're Bella's girl, right? I doubt that she's pick a murdering psychopath to fall for."

I nodded, a small smile playing over my lips. "True."

"Aww," Bella cooed, slinging an arm around both of our shoulders, or at least Seth's chest. "You two are bonding."

Seth grinned and strode forward, indicating that we should follow. There were twelve people in the clearing, excluding Bella and myself. Six of them were the wolves, minus Paul. Billy Black was there, as well as the two Clearwaters. Both children seemed to take after their mother in looks, with their father being a heavyset man with long greying hair and their mother more slim.

Two men stood behind Billy. The man on his left was tall, with an aristocratic face and thick grey hair cut short. He stood with the bearing of a man well-travelled and had a kind look in his eyes, similar to my adoptive father. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that he was Jason Ayers, the Reservations resident doctor.

The man on the right looked relatively young in comparison, probably in his mid-thirties. His long hair was dark brown and came down to his shoulders, framing a masculine face with a generous helping of stubble. His arms were crossed and his legs were held apart, as though he were standing his ground.

The last person in the group was a young woman who stood in the shelter of Sam's arms. Her long black hair was pulled back into a wooden clasp, decorated with ornate carvings. She was lithe, but not slight. Her face was beautiful, even with the three long jagged claw marks that ran across from her left temple to her jaw. She watched Bella with open curiosity and deeper in her expression, I saw hope.

Sam nodded at Bella and offered her a smile. "Bella, thank you for coming."

"No problem." She gently took my hand and laced our fingers together, tugging me forward ever so slightly.

Sam glanced at me and I could see his left eye twitching slightly, evidence of him battling his natural dislike of me. "You too, Alice."

Unlike Seth, Sam wasn't entirely happy to have me here, but he was at least being polite, which was more than my family could have hoped for in the two years we had been here prior to the Van Allens arriving. "Thank you for allowing me to accompany Bella."

Sam nodded again and cleared his throat. "I suppose introductions are in order. You know all us wolves already and of course, you know Billy." The man in question smiled like he had just won a million dollars and waved at Bella, shifting his feet slightly. Bella grinned and waved back.

Sam gestured to the Clearwaters. "This is Harry and Susan Clearwater, Seth and Leah's parents." Harry dipped his head slightly and Susan, a kind –looking woman of small stature, smiled at the both of us.

"This is Jason Ayers, our resident physician." The distinguished man also nodded, a gesture that seemed to be in abundance today.

"And last is Phoenix Townsend." The younger man lifted a hand, not quite a wave, but an acknowledgement nonetheless.

Bella raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Phoenix? Interesting name."

He smiled ruefully, revealing even white teeth. "My mother insisted on calling her children after places in America. I have a sister called Dakota and a brother called Tacoma. She was a bit eccentric."

Bella turned her attention back to Sam. "May I ask about the crowd?"

Sam had the grace to look at least a bit sheepish. "Well, the Council wanted to meet you, I'm here for moral support for Emily, and the others…well, they just thought what you did with Billy was pretty amazing and wanted to see it this time."

"Well, I aim to entertain." She moved forward purposefully, still holding my hand. Some of the wolves stiffened ever so slightly at my approach, but they held their tongues. Seth fell into step beside us and seemed to be completely oblivious to the atmosphere. Not that it was as bad as it could have been, or had been in the past, but it was still a little tense.

"You must be Emily," Bella stated, stepping forward to shake the hand of the young woman. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." She took a deep breath. "I just want to thank you for doing this. I know it may seem vain, but…"

"I'm serious Emily, it's really no problem. It's kind of pointless having these gifts if I can't even do anything with them." Bella's voice slipped slightly into bitterness and I knew that there was a story there, but now was not the time to ask.

The Pack leader shifted a little closer to Emily. I knew how he was feeling, having something that his instincts were telling him was an enemy standing so close to his mate. I felt it too, but neither of us could act on it right now.

Jason Ayers chose this moment to stride forward, making a beeline for Bella. He extended his hand and shook hers effusively. "Ms Van Allen. It truly is a pleasure to meet you. I'm not exactly a stranger to…unique individuals, being the doctor to a group of young shifters, but what you can do is truly a marvellous thing."

Bella's eyes widened under the praise while I resisted the urge to draw a chalk line on the ground and declare it 'our space'.

"Nice to meet you too, Dr Ayers."

He waved his hand in a negligent gesture. "Please, call me Jason. Even after all these years, I still think of Dr Ayers as my father. Oh, if only he could see this, he would be astounded."

"Well, I'm just thankful I don't get performance anxiety."

"Ah yes, I must apologise if it seems that this has become a…spectacle of sorts, but it is very rare that we meet another supernaturally inclined individual that we know nothing of. Although my own interest stems more from the medical side of things. Healing a severed spinal cord…" His voice became awed and he shook his head. "Forgive the doddering of an old fool, I'm no doubt holding you up." This time his nod was deeper, almost a little bow and he even extended it to me. Will the wonders never cease?

"So, uh, how do you want to do this?" Sam's voice was more than a little nervous and he kept wringing his hands.

Bella shrugged. "Well, we could do it here and now or whatever you want." She turned to Emily. "It's your choice."

"He-here is good." Her voice broke slightly but still came out strong. I would've liked to see what the outcome would be, but being on Quileute land meant my newly active visions were being hampered.

"Ok then, here goes." Bella released my hand and stepped forward. The other moved backwards to give her some space and I held my breath now that she was away from me. Her tone softened as she placed her hand on the scarred side of Emily's face. "Just try to hold still."

It was different than the last time, the light wasn't as strong, nor did it look like a storm of lights were swirling around the two of them. Instead, it was calmer, almost gentle, probably because there wasn't as much damage to heal this time around. A pale blue light with swirls of darker blue surrounded Bella's hand where it rested on Emily's face. It flowed into her, then back out, then back in again, like a wave of energy. I could almost feel it from where I stood, a glorious feeling spreading out from the two people in the centre of the clearing and only my desire to watch the beautiful display in front of me stopped me from closing my eyes and revelling in the feeling.

The light became denser, focusing on the scars until there was just three intensely glowing strips along Emily's face. And then they were gone, evaporated into the air like sprinkles of glitter.

A gasp rang through the clearing, unidentified in the aftermath. The reason for the gasp, however, was clear. The scars on Emily's face were gone, as though they had never been, the skin unblemished and her face even more beautiful.

Bella stepped back and shook her head, blinking her slightly dazed eyes. Knowing how exhausted she was when she healed Billy, I quickly moved to her side and wrapped a supporting arm around her waist.

"Alice, I'm fine."

I shook my head at her. "The last time you healed someone, you fell asleep for fifteen hours."

"That was because it was such an old and serious wound. This one was only about a year old and not that serious."

"I'm not taking any chances."

I turned my head to look at what was happening, seeing a tearful Emily pressing her hand against her face, an expression of profound joy on her face. Sam wrapped her up in his arms and laughed, a long, happy sound that put a smile on my face. The rest of the group quickly crowded around, staring in amazement and shock. Emily must have been hugged and patted on the back about twenty tines in the space of a few minutes.

"Oh, Bella, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me," Emily threw her arms around Bella, and by association, me, instigating a sort of awkward group hug that didn't bother her in the least. I swear, since Bella moved to Forks, fifty percent of the occupants have hugged her already.

She stepped back and wiped her eyes, Sam once again wrapping his arm around her. "Yeah, thank you so much for this." If I didn't know better, I'd swear that Sam was getting a little teary.

Bella nodded and leaned on me a bit more. Susan Clearwater noticed it instantly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a little drained."

"We just need to get some food into her." I patted her stomach, hearing the tiny rumble. It was the first time I had ever heard it and it was kind of cute.

Sue smiled and exchanged a glance with the others. "Oh, I think we can take care of that. It's the least we can do."

And that was how, three hours later, I found myself firmly seated in the cocoon of Bella's arms as we sat on a log on First Beach in front of a roaring fire, with about thirty people laughing, eating and partying around us. Everyone on the Reservation who knew about the wolves, vampires and Bella had been invited to celebrate. After a while of everybody crowding Bella and speaking to her, the younger generation, plus me, had decided to build our own fire and start trading stories. Or rather, they had collected it and Bella had shot it with a fireball.

It was about eight o'clock, the sun having set long before. That left the only source of illumination the driftwood fire that was glowing blue and snapping occasionally. The atmosphere was jovial, their animosity for the vampire in their midst forgotten in their merriment.

"I swear, I've never laughed so damn hard as that day when we all saw Embry here stuck up a tree with a pissed off badger trying to get at him." Seth smacked the man in question hard on the arm. "Some Spirit Warrior you are."

Embry looked affronted. "Hey, that thing was huge, not to mention vicious." He pointed at Jacob. "Besides, I'm not the one that 'repaired' Mrs Batter's car then forgot to put the brake cords back in."

Jacob lobbed his cola can at him. "Oh, come on, I was twelve!"

Embry ducked and laughed. "Yeah, and she drove into Mr Farson's manure pile." He nudged Bella with his foot. "You should have seen him, he had to spend two whole days scraping crap off her car."

Bella almost choked on her mouthful of lemon soda. "You think that's bad? My sister, the scary vampire, is still afraid of spiders. This one time when I was six, there was a giant one in the bathtub and she jumped so hard when she saw it, she broke though the wall."

Seth doubled over laughing, but Leah had a pensive look on her face. "What are they like?"

"My family?"

Leah nodded. "I mean, we've been raised to believe that vampires were monsters, but the way you talk about your family, well…" She glanced at me. "They don't all seem so bad."

Bella sat up straighter, hugging me tightly to her chest. "They're not. Don't get me wrong, I've met some bad vampires, but I've met some bad humans too. Vampirism doesn't turn you evil, it just turns you into a vampire."

"But…they kill people." Quill looked to me. "Haven't you?"

It didn't sound accusatory, he was genuinely curious, but my voice quietened. "Yes."

"You feel guilty," Sam said slowly, almost as if he had never entertained the idea of such a thing. Hell, with the way he had been raised, he probably hadn't.

"Of course I feel guilty. It's just…when I first woke up, I didn't remember anything from my human life. I didn't know who I was, or what I was. All I knew was that my throat felt like it was on fire. I wandered for a while, not knowing what to do, and then I met some men on the road." I stiffened and Bella pressed her lips to my neck. The Quileute's were silent. "They weren't nice people. I had woken up beside a burned building so my clothes were in tatters, they saw an opportunity and were going to take it. I didn't even realize that I had killed them until after the fact, but I knew that my throat didn't burn any more."

Leah licked her lips nervously, obviously treading very carefully. "What happened then?"

"Well, I was alone for a long time. I avoided…feeding until it was absolutely necessary and even then, I tried to limit my victims to criminals, murders, rapists." I felt a small smile grow on my face. "Then I had a vision of the Cullens, of Carlisle and I realised that I could survive on animal blood. First time I tried it, it tasted like crap, but I kept going and haven't looked back since."

"But you want human blood, don't you?" Jacob asked.

"Yes and I no doubt always will. It's like a drug addiction, you have to fight it every day and every day, it gets a little easier."

"Then how does Dr Cullen do it?"

"Carlisle has unprecedented control. When he first woke up, he ran into the woods and tried to kill himself. When that failed, he shut himself off from anyone he could hurt. It was three weeks before a herd of passing deer made him snap and he attacked them. He's been training ever since and after almost four centuries, he's very good at it."

Leah looked down. "I guess in the grand scheme of things, we've been a little bit rough on you. We never really took the time to listen."

I shrugged. "It's how you were raised."

Bella chuckled and I turned to look into her twinkling brown eyes. No matter which form she wore, she was still beautiful. "Look at you, making friends."

"Only because you have that annoying habit of building bridges."

"Hey, if we hadn't built our bridge, we'd never have gotten together."

I craned my head forward and breathed against her soft lips. "That's true." God, but she was a fantastic kisser.

"You two are so damn cheesy. I can't believe I'm saying that about a vamp, but there you go." I pulled away from her warm lips and she groaned in disappointment. Seth was busily munching on potato chips.

"Dude," Bella whined. "Don't interrupt the kissing time. Never the kissing time."

He snickered. "With the way you guys were going at it, I doubt you would ever have stopped."

Bella flicked a peanut at him. "Shut it, weirdo."

"Weirdo? You're the one who shoots fireballs and heals people with a touch. You're the weird one."

"I am not."

Seth purposefully nodded his head to Bella's left side, at the edge of the group. Our gazes followed to observe the eleven squirrels that had been slowly gathering ever since Bella had sat down. As we watched, one of them skittered forward and tugged on Bella's shoelace. She reached down and handed him another peanut, which he promptly began eating.

Bella popped a peanut into her mouth and chewed slowly. "I can see how that would seem strange to someone who's not used to it."

"This is a frequent occurrence?" Leah asked, brushing her dark bangs from her face.

"Oh yeah, happens all the time." Bella glanced at her watch, wincing slightly. "Speaking of time, we should probably get going. This was supposed to be a short trip."

As it turns out, it took another half an hour to extricate ourselves from the group, Bella had to receive about fifty more hugs, well wishes and gratitude's. By the time we got to the car, it was almost ten.

"That was actually sort of fun," I said, surprised by the admission. The wolves had been courteous and they hadn't seemed as hostile, no doubt due to the slight calming influence Bella exuded. I also noticed that only five of the Council had shown up out of eight. The other three, as well as Paul, had chosen to avoid coming. I knew it was because I was there and not all of the people on the Reservation would welcome me, no matter how close I was to Bella.

"I know. Did the smell bother you?"

I shook my head. "No, after a while, your scent made it bearable."

"I have a good feeling about this, it could mean no more animosity between our groups. I know that some people stayed away because you were there, but most were polite. I think they even warmed up to you a little bit at the end there."

"I'm thrilled."

Her mouth curved into a smirk. "Please Alice, try to curb your enthusiasm. Oh, by the way, I was wondering if you would like to go flying again tomorrow. I know this really great mountain range that has some amazing views."

I grinned and rested my head on her shoulder. "I'll always say yes to flying with you. But in that case, you might as well let me out here. I haven't hunted in a while." I would have to be careful now that I was spending so much time with Bella. Her scent soothed my throat, but I would still need to feed. If I spent too much time with her and forgot, when she left, I could be way hungrier than I had thought.

"Sure." She pulled over to the side of the road and I opened the door.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning," she sighed.

"Yeah." I rested my hand on her cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. It lasted a full three minutes now that we didn't have anyone to interrupt us. Part of me wanted to just grab her and hightail it to the nearest soft surface, but the responsible side made me pull away. "Tomorrow," I promised.

"Bye," she whispered.

I gave her one more peck and slipped out of the car. As she drove away, the red lights bright in the darkness, I could see her watching me in the rear-view mirror. The puppy dog phase was a powerful thing.

I sighed to myself and ran into the woods, nostrils flaring as I scented the air for something to eat. As I suspected, now that Bella was gone, my throat was burning more strongly than I had anticipated. I caught the scent of a large deer and gave chase, letting it get a bit ahead of me to burn off some energy.

It wasn't until I had been tracking my second deer for about ten minutes that I realized something was wrong. A feeling pricked the back of my neck, the tingling sensation of someone being watched. I stopped moving and looked around me warily, still too close to wolf territory to get a clear vision. The wet leaves squished beneath my feet and I tensed my muscles, primed to run at a moment's notice.

I heard them before I saw them. There were three, two males with heavier footsteps than the remaining female. Vampires, one of which was no doubt our mystery killer from Port Angeles. But there was only supposed to be one, the wolves had picked up no more scents and the amount of killings would only feed one vampire.

I froze and snapped my head to the left, waiting a few moments until three vampires emerged from the trees. They were nomads, as evidenced by their tattered clothing, each with red eyes. The one in front was tall, with dark skin and an almost elegant bearing. His dark hair was held in dreadlocks.

The woman was crouched slightly, as though she were expecting an attack at any moment. Or was stalking something. Her pale skin was a perfect back drop for her mane of fiery hair and her teeth were a bit sharper than average.

But it was the third vampire that made my eyes widen. His long dirty blond hair was tied up in a ponytail and he wore a tattered leather jacket, jeans and nothing else. He wore a smirk on his face and I knew that despite the positioning, he was the true leader I this group.

He also made fear curl in my stomach like something alive. I may not have had my visions, but every instinct was screaming in my mind to get away from him, that he was dangerous and that if I stayed here, I would die.

He laughed in delight, a low, dangerous sound. "Well, well, well. Mary Alice, fancy meeting you here."

**A/N: Don't hate me! I'm sleepy and I had to end it here.**

**I'm sorry for taking so long to update once again and I'll try to do better, but no promises. I know this chapter wasn't my best, but it was hard to get out for some reason. I'm also sorry for any typos, I was rushed in getting this out.**

**Leave your reviews so I can feel horribly guilty and update faster. That is, if I have any followers left…**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I don't even know what to say at this point, but I've realised something. This cannot go on, this updating months apart thing. It's not fair to you guys and I'm stopping right now. From this moment forth, my new update day shall be the first of every month until I say otherwise, or unless someone dies or I spontaneously combust, whichever. No more erratic updating, hooray! That is, if any of you are even still reading this…**

BPOV

It's not like I wasn't usually in a good mood or anything, but I just felt so _happy _right now.

I was loath to admit it, but the likelihood of me finding a mate, or lack thereof, was something that had been weighing on me since I had turned five. A little early, I know, but I was always a little bit advanced for my age. I hadn't worried to the degree that I would turn into a brooding mess; bemoaning the fact that I would be alone for eternity and refusing to let people even look at me as I fell into a deep spiral of shame, but the worry was still there.

My cloistered life, coupled with the fact that I was something other than human with dubious origins and lived with an overprotective family of vampires, meant that dating wasn't something that I really ever envisioned me doing.

How exactly would you reveal that to your possible significant other? I couldn't lie to them for long, because the guilt and eventual paranoia would get to me, but how long would be appropriate to wait before you dropped _that_ particular bomb? You'd have to wait long enough so that they cared enough about you not to run away in a panic, but not too long so that they felt horribly betrayed by your lies.

I couldn't even put into words how ecstatic I was that Alice was as fantastic as she was, _and _a vampire that knew about the supernatural, because this kind of stuff just wasn't covered in 'Dating For Dummies'.

I pulled up in front of my house, hopping out and happily skipping over to the door, patting one of my father's stone lions on the way.

It was dark so the lights on the inside sent a wave of golden light out onto the grass, illuminating the dew drops that refused to evaporate in this climate.

Pulling the door open and stepping over Sanderson, who tried valiantly to latch onto my leg, I made my way towards the living room. The TV was on to some panel show and my family were sprawled out on various seats like a pride of sparkly lions.

"How was it?" Clare asked, searching my face for clues. Or bloody wounds, either or.

I sank down onto the armchair closest to the booming fireplace, noticing for the first time how big and lonely it felt. "Fantastic," I stated, grinning widely as I hugged a pillow to my chest. "Emily is all healed up, the wolves don't hate Alice as much as they did yesterday and we're going out on another date tomorrow."

Their amused glances clued me into the fact that I was becoming dangerously sappy but I chose not to care. My hands traced the design on the pillow, a galloping horse, and I wondered if Alice had ever gone riding. A horse wouldn't let her get close without my intervention now that she was a vampire and if she had while she was human, she wouldn't even remember. I once again felt a pang of sadness for all of the experiences Alice wouldn't remember, an entire childhood lost.

I bet she was an adorable child. Hell, she was adorable _now._

"Don't forget that you have to bring your egg. You wouldn't want to be accused of being neglectful parents."

I frowned. How would that work? We were going flying over mountains. Would taking a baby flying constitute bad parenting? It's not like I would drop it or anything…

"I think it would be more responsible if I were to hire a babysitter for the day," I said slowly, imagining the look on a prospective babysitters face if I were to present her with an unfertilized chicken egg.

Jesse sighed and sat forward. "Bella, you're my sister and I love the crap out of you, but you need to put things into perspective." Raising both hands into a scale imitation, she continued. "Taking care of an egg that will _never _hatch no matter how much you love it, or making out with a smoking hot vampire."

"But I have a respons-"

"Shhh...," She placed her finger gently over my lips while leaning over the space separating us. "Inanimate object, or possible nookie. Just think about that."

I could feel the blush running up my neck as I scratched my arm. "There is very little likelihood of 'nookie' in my immediate future. I'm not ready for that kind of step."

She shook her head, as though she were talking to a particularly slow child. "There's always the possibility of nookie in anyone's immediate future."

"Not mine." I paused. "And can you stop calling it 'nookie'?"

Lee groaned and Jesse smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that that word bothered you. Are any of the following more acceptable?" She spoke as she was listing them off on her fingers. "Sex, love making, hanky panky, horizontal hustle, humpity dumpity, a roll in the hay, sowing the wild oats, making whoopee, or even just good, old-fashioned fu-"

I leapt off the chair and tackled her to the ground, my face on fire. "Good God woman, do you collect euphemisms or something?"

She grinned up at me, unrepentant. "In a manner of speaking."

I rolled off of her and stared up at the ceiling, Jesse chuckling as she lay her head on my stomach. "You know, it always surprises me when you come off all prim and proper, seeing as you were raised by us and I tried my damndest to corrupt you in your youthful innocence." Clare snorted while Jesse angled her head up to catch my eye. "Yet when you're around Alice, you have no trouble tapping into your 'sexual side'."

Micheal's eyes zeroed in on my face. "Tapping into your sexual side? There will be no tapping of any sort in this house and at your age, young lady."

There was silence for a moment, broken only by Clare mumbling, "Three, two, one…"

Right on cue, Micheal's golden eyes widened. "That…came out wrong." He paused. "But is true nonetheless."

I sighed. "What's with the sudden fixation on my sex life?"

The Laser Dad Eyes of Death were just powering up when I raised a hand in supplication. "Not that I have one."

Clare tsk'd. "Oh Micheal, I realise that you feel like you need to protect Bella's…maidenhood," My eyebrows rose at this and Jesse shook slightly, "But if she wants to go have sex with Alice, she's perfectly entitled."

I sighed. "Maidenhood? Really?"

She shrugged. "You've never had a problem talking with us before, why start now? You seem to be…very sensitive about this. Is something wrong?"

I fiddled with the ring on my finger, slipping in on and off, no doubt presenting a rather strange vision, but my family were used to it. "Well," I blushed heavily, "It's not that I don't know what to do, and it's not even that I feel nervous because I know that it won't happen any time soon, because it won't. It's just that…well, I noticed recently that my fire ability keeps acting up whenever I'm excited." The last was sent out in a rush, to be met with silence.

Lee's dark brows furrowed. "And you're only noticing this now?"

I waved my hands in exasperation. "I've never been sexually attracted to anyone before, okay? How was I supposed to know?"

Jesse spoke slowly, all traces of teasing humour gone from her voice. "And you're afraid that at some point in the future, when it eventually does happen, you'll lose control and—"

"And set Alice on fire?" I asked. "Yeah. And in case you hadn't noticed, vampires are more flammable than dry tinder. And it's not even the future sex I'm most worried about. I mean, you saw what happened today, I lit my notebook on fire in the middle of class because Alice was wearing appealing clothing!"

This sudden onset of anxiety about this situation was totally unexpected for me. I had noticed that my pyrokinesis was getting was getting a little stronger, and a little more antsy. I had even noticed how it reacted to Alice, but it was only now hitting me with the possible future ramifications.

I didn't want to light my girlfriend on fire!

"Bella!"

I snapped my head towards Micheal, my breaths coming in faster. I could feel my heartbeat speeding up and started to feel slightly dizzy. Hands moved to my jaw, pulling my head around, their concerned voices slightly distorted.

"What is it? Bella, what's wrong?"

What was wrong? It couldn't be the overenthusiastic response my ability had to Alice. I could work on that, on getting control and Alice would understand, of that I was sure. This was too sudden. Too foreign.

Too…wrong.

"Alice," I breathed, vaulting up off of the floor and dashing out of the room, leaving my confused and anxious family behind.

APOV

I tensed as I heard the name fall from his lips, something about the way he said it striking a chord in me.

Ever since I had been turned, I had crystal-clear memory. Every sight, every sound, smell or experience was stored in my mind like a computer archive. It was the eighteen years before my awakening that were a mystery to me. No matter how long or hard I tried to remember, I could never get anything from that time in my life.

For me, either I remembered with great detail or not at all. As a result, I had never fallen prey to that sensation of recognising someone or something, but not knowing from where.

That is, until now.

"Who are you?" My voice was steady, but I felt my body shifting slightly, instinctively trying to lower itself into a crouch.

He chuckled and moved forward, the slight wind rustling the wisps of hair escaping the band holding it back. The other two followed him closely, no longer keeping up the pretence of him not being in charge.

"You have no idea how amusing that question is to me." Despite his words, his smile and almost washed out, like his face wasn't used to it. I kept all three of them in my vision, feeling more uneasy by the minute. I wasn't in the Quileute's territory any longer, but I also hadn't reached the land that my family held. That meant help wasn't likely coming. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I would need help.

"Glad I could provide you with some entertainment."

The redhead grinned at me, her face much more suited to the motion, but it was cruel and reminded me unwaveringly of Jane.

"You're so different than the last time we met, Mary Alice," the he stated, running his gaze up and down my body, finally settling on my eyes. "And I don't just mean the obvious. You seem more…spunky, and less terrified.

I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew how he knew me, but I had to know for sure. "We've met?"

"Oh, Mary Alice, back in the old days, we knew each other _intimately_."

I felt a chill run down my spine at his words, as well as the tone of his voice.

The redhead was walking around to my left side, flanking me, making sure I couldn't keep all three of them in my vision at once. The man with the dreadlocks seemed almost bored, as though this was merely a chore.

My instincts were telling me to run, that I was outnumbered and outgunned, especially without my visions. I could try to get far enough away from the wolves so that they would stop interfering, but I wasn't sure if I _could _outrun them. I had to keep him talking.

"Why are you here? You're getting rather close to my covens territory." Usually, we considered ourselves more of a 'family', but I didn't want to seem too…human. "Not to mention the territory of a pack of shape-shifters."

He didn't so much as bat an eyelash at the veiled threat. "I know that. And I really had no intention of coming here, but I was walking the streets of Port Angeles a while ago, when I came upon a most curious scent. One that I hadn't come across in a long time. It's changed a little, no doubt, but at the core it still smells like it did all those years ago. Back when you were still human."

I stifled a gasp in pure reflex. I had pretty much guessed who he was before he revealed it, but to know for sure was another thing.

"You're the vampire who turned me."

But he surprised me. His lip curled in anger and a deep growl trickled out. "No. I had absolutely no intention of turning you." He shifted to my right, on the opposite side to the redhead, who was still crouched on my left.

"You see, I'm a hunter. I don't just drink the blood of any old human for sustenance. No, I need to have dinner _and _a show, so to speak. I like to make a little game out of it, by searching for a human that interests me, that smells unique." He gestured to me. "Like you were, when I found you. You have no idea how divine your scent was to me. It was intoxicating. So I watched and I waited, observing you before I made my move."

His face darkened and I took an instinctive step back, the hair on my arms and neck rising sharply.

"But I made a mistake. There was another who had taken an interest in you. Not for food, he adhered to that same sickening diet that you do, but rather, as a companion. He was pathetic, he knew I was coming for you, so he turned you himself, to protect you. He took you from me. From me! I had never failed before, I _always _got my kill, but he had to ruin it. You were gone."

I knew I should run, he was getting dangerous. My body wanted to run, my feet shifting so I could get proper leverage, but I just couldn't leave. Not when I had someone in front of me who _knew_, who knew who I was, who I had been.

"Who was he?" I demanded, my shaking voice betraying my anxiousness.

"I never bothered to get his name, to be honest, I just killed him and was done with it."

I felt a pang of sadness at his words, even though I couldn't even remember this vampire who had saved my life.

His eyes gleamed, moving to the redhead and back to me. I was out of time.

"I searched for you. For a long time. You could say that I was a little…obsessed with keeping my record of never failing. I'd always hoped to find you again, and imagine my surprise when I picked up your scent after all this time." He shrugged slightly. "Funny how life works sometimes."

It bothered me to admit that over the course of my life as a vampire, my fighting skills were irrevocably tied to into my visions. Now that my visions were out of commission due to proximity to the wolves, my reaction time was too slow to avoid the sudden lunge made by the redhead.

She slammed into me, her greater weight and strength taking me to the ground in an explosion of dirt and loam. I twisted violently, managing to get my foot into her stomach and pushing her off over my head.

Both of us jumped up at the same time, a snarl leaving my lips. She blurred forward as I shot to the side, her outstretched hand grazing my cheek.

I saw the leader move out of the corner of my eye and barely managed to dodge his rush, but I couldn't stop the strong arms of the third vampire from wrapping themselves around my body, pinning my arms to my sides. I struggled, his greater strength almost overwhelmed by my desperation to be free.

The redhead laughed and moved towards me. I lashed out with both of my feet, making the vampire behind me hold my weight as I slammed a kick into her stomach. It lifted her off her feet and sent her across the clearing, her body almost crashing into a tree until she twisted in mid-air and avoided it entirely, landing lightly in a crouch.

"Now, now, that wasn't nice," she growled.

I twisted in the grip that held me, trying to get free, but the vampire holding me put a stop to my struggles by placing his teeth against the back of my neck, causing me to freeze instantly.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, swallowing convulsively.

He brushed his hair back from his face. "I told you-"

"You record, yes. But that was a long time ago. I'm a vampire now, my blood is gone. This is pointless."

He scoffed. "It's no longer about drinking your blood, Mary Alice. You were my one failure, the one that got away."

"So what, I'm your white whale?"

"So to speak."

My eyes roved over the forest surrounding us, trying in vain to find some means of escape.

God, this would kill my family. Not to mention Bella. I felt a sickening sensation in the pit of my stomach, an image of her smiling face crossing my mind. We had just found each other, and now I was going to die, all because of some psychopath and his issues.

He came to a stop a mere foot from me and suddenly froze. Eyes widening, he took a deep breath, leaning in closer to me, but not close enough for me to take a bite out of him.

"What is that scent?" His voice was surprised and confused. "It's not yours, but it's all over you."

I felt a flash of fear, knowing exactly what he smelled.

Bella.

Her scent dissipated quickly, but not fast enough for a hunter to miss it. And knowing his type, and from the look on his face, he just found his new target.

"Perfect. I'll kill you, and track down the person that this delectable scent belongs to."

Panic washed through me, along with a strong dose of anger. How dare he threaten to take away something so precious?

My anger lent me strength as I slammed my elbow back into the vampire behind me, using his distraction to break free and lunge at the man in front of me.

BPOV

I ran faster than I've ever run before. Fallen trees and boulders became minor obstacles that I weaved around or just vaulted over. Leaves shot up in my wake as though a whirlwind had just blown past. My hair streamed past my face and if I hadn't grown up flying at speed in storm-force winds, my eyes would be watering.

I paid them no mind, all of my energy, my entire being focused on getting to Alice. I didn't question how I knew she was in danger, or how I knew where to go, I just went with it and prayed to God I'd get there in time to stop…whatever was wrong.

I came to an overhang that angled steeply upward for about thirty feet, almost like a cliff face. Latching onto a nearby tree branch, I twisted and vaulted up and over it, landing lightly and continuing on a split second later.

I knew that my family would be following, but I was much faster and I didn't have the time to wait for them.

I was coming up to the last stretch and I could see the river up ahead, its raging waters preventing safe crossing. Luckily for me, I didn't intend to wade through it. Bolting forward, I leapt onto a flat rock beside the bank, coiled my legs and shot out and over the river. I tucked into a ball in mid-air and rolled, using my momentum to break into a run as soon as I touched down.

The feeling of wrongness grew stronger, a pulse of dark emotion washing over me. At that moment, I heard voices in the distance, then a noise that made my heart stop. A scream of pain.

Alice's scream of pain.

I'm not even entirely sure of what happened next. The world blurred around me and the next second, I was at the edge of a clearing that would have been beautiful were it not for the scene in the middle of it.

Alice was backed against a moss-covered rock wall as three unfamiliar vampires advanced on her. I felt a moment of pride as I saw various injuries on the unknown vampires.

The one in the lead, with dirty blond hair had a slash across his face and was holding his arm to his side, which obviously pained him. The woman with red hair was limping heavily, a huge chunk torn out of her leg. The vampire at the back with what appeared to be dreadlocks was missing several of the thick strands, as well as a few fingers. Each of them had various cracks running up and down their bodies, revealed through rips in their clothing.

However, it was still one against three and Alice was looking a little worse for wear. Her right arm was hanging at an odd angle, obviously only just spared from being ripped off completely. There was an enormous crack running down the side of her neck, with many smaller cracks branching off. Bite marks littered her body, including one on her right eyebrow that was preventing her from opening that eye. But what worried me the most was the rip in her stomach, easily six inches across where her flesh had been torn out.

I took this all in in the split second it took me to leap off the tree stump I was standing on and slam into the redhead that was going for Alice's throat. A surprised gasp left her mouth, quickly silenced as I used the element of surprise to throw her off of me and into several trees which cracked upon impact. Before she hit the ground I was up and grabbing the arm of the dread-locked vampire, spinning in place as though I were throwing a discus. He crashed into the ground a good twenty feet away, huge clods of dirt dislodged with his passing.

Moving quickly, I put myself in between Alice and the final vampire.

"Bella? How did you-?"

"No idea, but I'm glad I did." I glared at the vampire in front of me, noticing that the other two were recovered and moving to stand behind him. "Who the Hell are you and what do you want?"

"I forgot proper introductions, didn't I? Well, in that case, I'm James, that's Victoria and the other is Laurent. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

He punctuated the last word by diving towards me, hands outstretched. I dodged to the left, grabbing onto his leg as he passed and pulling him back to keep him away from Alice, smacking him into the ground and dancing back.

The redhead, Victoria, almost surprised me, but Alice was there to fend her off with a swift kick to the neck. I managed to divert the rushing Laurent's momentum enough with a kick to send him sprawling, but it left me open to James, a fact I noticed when I felt him crash into me from behind. We crashed to the ground, his fingers digging into the flesh of my shoulder, causing me to cry out. I wasn't quite as hard as a vampire, and close quarters grappling like this wasn't good for me, someone who relied on speed.

I felt for the fire inside of me, calling it up to help me out. Unfortunately, my current emotional state made it rather volatile, I could feel it trying to get out, to blast this whole section of forest into cinders. But Alice was here, I needed to reign it in.

I slammed an elbow into his side, dislodging him enough so that I could slip out from under him, only to run almost straight into Laurent. He wrapped his arms around me in a crushing grip, the air leaving my body as it felt like a huge weight had been pressed onto my chest.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alice battling Victoria, trying to get to me, but her wounds were giving her trouble.

James stalked up to me, feral grin on his face. "So you're the owner of that scent. How lucky for me."

Laurent, as if in anticipation to my struggled, increased his hold. I heard a crack and felt one of my ribs give under the pressure, pain ripping through me.

I couldn't let this happen, I just had to hold off until my family got here. These vampires were nomads, so they were obviously used to fighting, whereas I only really ever sparred, but my family would mean more numbers.

Tucking my body into a ball, I forced my legs against Laurent's thighs ignoring the pain from my ribs as I pushed off. He was knocked back, but I could feel a different hand surrounding my arm, pulling it upward. I knew what James was doing, but it was too late to stop his teeth from sliding into my arm.

I had never been burned before, not even when I was seven and managed to crawl into a lit furnace that was a part of the old house we were staying in at the time. But if I had to guess, I'd say that this is what getting burned felt like. A wave of white hot agony shot through my arm as I ripped it away from his grasp.

My entire body focused on the pain, seeking relief. I could feel that fire, my fire moving to combat this intruder, sliding up my arm and out, crashing into James' chest. He let loose a primal sound of fear, all his instincts screaming at him to get away from the flames eating at his clothes. Had I a chance, I could have made it hotter, so hot that it would have flash fried him in seconds, but my body had called the shot on that one.

He tore off his jacket, stumbling backwards, away from the smouldering remains, his eyes shooting up to meet mine in shock.

A small body moved to my side, Alice having ripped off one of Victoria's arms, which the redhead was now in the process of reattaching.

I let her presence sooth me, using it to call up the fire in a controlled manner, a bright blue fireball forming in my outstretched hand.

James looked between the fireball and my face, as if deciding whether or not he should risk it. It was then that I noticed something weird about his eyes. The other two had blood red eyes, but James' were lighter, fading into an almost purple. I flashed to the pain in my arm and the blood dripping from his chin. My blood. That wasn't good.

Whether he would have attacked or not turned out to be moot, as I heard the sound of my family approaching. They heard them too, their heads snapping around to look in the direction the sounds were coming from.

James growled in frustration, knowing that he was out of time. He focussed on the small form at my side. "We'll finish this some other time, Mary Alice." His eyes shifted to mine. "And I'll definitely be seeing _you _again." Licking his lips once, he turned away from the approaching sounds and bolted, the other two on his tail.

"Bella?" Jesse, the second fastest in the family, burst out of the trees, pausing momentarily when she saw the wreckage of the clearing. Trees were uprooted, boulders were smashed, huge clumps of earth were torn up. And me and Alice stood in the centre, looking like death warmed over. "Holy crap, are you okay?" She quickly moved to our side as the rest of my family appeared, their reactions similar to hers. "What happened?"

I looked at Alice, feeling a huge lump in my throat. I almost lost her. Pulling her into my arms, I buried my face in her hair as she nuzzled my neck. "Are you alright?"  
She released a shaky sigh. "Yeah, I'm okay. You?" She pulled back sharply. "Oh my God, he bit you!"

I raised my arm, looking at the bite mark. It throbbed horribly, but the agony of earlier was gone, whatever my body did having removed the venom. I hoped.

"What?" Micheal snarled. "Who bit you? What happened? Are you alright?"

I pulled Alice back into me, needing to feel her close after what happened. Her spiky hair brushed against my cheek and I breathed a sigh of profound relief. "We're fine. There were three vampires here before you showed up, I'm guessing the ones who have been making themselves known in Port Angeles. The one named James bit me, but I'm fairly certain my body got rid of the venom."

Clare moved forward, wrapping her arms around the both of us and directing us back the way they had come. "Come on. We'll contact the Cullens and the wolves. I want these bastards found soon."

As we allowed my mother to lead us back home, I couldn't help but feel that it wouldn't be that easy.

**A/N: I know, I know. It's much shorter than my other chapters, and it's very 'blah', but seeing as it's been four months, I felt I needed to get it out now. **

**This chapter just wouldn't work for me. I know it's crap, but I needed to move past it.**

**I would have had it out yesterday, but totally screwed me. That and I had to go to the dentist…**

**Anyway, if you read the A/N up top, you should know about my new updating plan. I don't know if it'll work for me, and the chapters won't be 8'000 plus, but I'll be working on this story. I'm not even sure how much left there is to go. I was planning more than one arc, but I haven't decided if I'm going to do the other arc, or just end it after this one. I need inspiration! OH, and a beta reader. How do I find one of those? And what do they do? **


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: See, I told you I could do it! You probably didn't believe me, not surprising, considering my track record, but I did it. And a whole day early, too!**

**Right, well, onto the chapter.**

**Oh, also, I got a Beta and it seems to be the done thing to thank them in these notes, so thank you, xPaige Turnerx, for the assistance. Seriously, editing is my least favorite part of the writing process.**

APOV

I felt nauseated.

It wasn't something that I had felt in a long time, some thirty years in fact, so it seemed worth mentioning.

I was pressed into Bella's warm side as we moved through the woods at a much slower pace than normal, almost back to her house.

Her anxious family had flat out refused to allow even one of them to run back to the house to await my own family who would no doubt be on their way after a hasty phone call made by Jesse. Unfortunately, my phone had been crushed in the fight and she had to climb some tall trees to get any reception, something that I wasn't all that up to at the moment.

Every step sent a stabbing pain shooting through my body, focused on my stomach and my arm, having been almost ripped off in the fight.

My neck and eyebrow throbbed too, but to a lesser degree and my vision was slowly returning to the damaged eye.

Bella's arm was securely wrapped around my shoulder, her temperature as high as I had ever felt it, and her eyes darting around the surrounding woods. She had been so subtle about it that it had taken me a while to notice that whenever a noise broke the silence, she was placing herself between me and whatever direction the noise had come from.

She wasn't the only one who was worried though. I had heard her rib break and could see the dark, painful-looking bruise on her shoulder, but it had been growing steadily lighter on the trek home. The bite on her forearm, on the other hand, was still slowly leaking blood, soaking the scrap of cloth Clare had wrapped around it. The scent of her blood in the air, while sweet, made me feel even worse. The thought of Bella being injured was probably what was making me feel nauseated in the first place.

"Alice, please let me. You're hurt." If Bella's arm or ribs were hurting her, you couldn't tell from her voice. It was full of concern. For me.

I sighed. "And so are you."

She frowned, her chocolate brown eyes flashing in frustration. "I'm not the one who almost had my arm ripped off, nor do I have a gaping hole in my stomach."

"No, you just got bitten by a vampire. We have no idea how that will affect you and until we do, I have no intention of allowing you to weaken yourself by healing me," I countered, giving her a look that conveyed my feelings on the matter.

Clare moved closer, eyes flickering between us. "She's right, Bella, we need to be careful about this."

Bella's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, let's just get home so that Carlisle can give you the blood."

I had already fed not so very long ago, but while animal blood was enough to keep us going, it wasn't as effective as human blood at healing, therefore I would require more.

Carlisle was always prepared for such an event and so he kept several containers of blood at home, one part human to three parts animal. We diluted it with animal blood so that it would mask the taste and prevent us from being even more tempted, but even that small amount would be very helpful.

I wrapped an arm around Bella's waist and lay my head down on her shoulder. It was a little awkward, seeing as we were still walking and she was taller than me, but I needed this so I managed.

"I'm sorry, I know that you don't like seeing me hurt." No more than I liked seeing _her _hurt, but I didn't have any nifty healing powers so I didn't have a choice. "But I just can't risk it."

She sighed, meeting my eyes which had darkened slightly from the pain that I was trying not to show. "Yeah, seeing you hurt is a hard pill to swallow, especially when I know I can do something about it. But, I can't very well force-heal you, so I'll have to abide by your wishes."

I was just about to exult in my victory, something that was few and far between with someone as stubborn as Bella, when a spasm of pain went through my stomach. I staggered for a moment until Bella stooped down and scooped me up into her arms, bridal style.

I squawked in surprise, clutching at her shoulders.

"Hey! You're injured too," I complained, trying in vain not to equate the word 'gallant' with this sweet stubborn mule of a woman.

She deftly sprang over a log that was laying in our way, easily shifting my weight so I wasn't jostled. "Yes, but my ribs feel fine, my shoulder is on the way to being fully healed and my arm isn't throbbing as badly as it was three minutes ago. Now, your eye may be healed, as well as your neck, but you still have that window into your stomach. So right now, you're going to lay back and close that pretty little mouth of yours before I have to get serious."

I raised an eyebrow, ignoring the chuckles around me. Chuckles that were still a little tense as eyes darted around the forest. Not that it was very likely that the nomads would attack a group larger than they were, especially so soon after failing the first time, but everyone was still a little on-edge.

"And what is your version of serious?"

Pursing her lips, she shifted me in her arms so that our heads were closer. "Well, I could always withhold kissing."

"You wouldn't," I replied with total conviction.

"And how could you possibly know that?"

"You're practically as touchy-feely with me as I am with you. You'd never last."

She frowned at my astute observation. "Huh. You're right."

"I usually am."

"Don't start getting cocky now missy."

I knew exactly what we were doing. The jokes, the banter, it was all a cover, a shield to protect us from the panic that was swirling just beneath the surface.

"I promise you, there is nothing _cocky _about me."

She grinned. "Oh, inappropriate sexual innuendo. Alice, you dog."

I could see the house coming into view up ahead as everyone quickened their pace until we were up on the porch. Micheal opened the door and we moved inside, Bella being forced to twist to the side so that I could fit in without having to be put down.

My family hadn't arrived yet and the wolves had yet to be called, so we moved to the living room where Bella collapsed onto the sofa and stretched me out beside her, placing my head gently in her lap. The other sat down on various seats around the room to wait for my family to arrive, turning their attention to the TV to give us the illusion of privacy.

I clenched my teeth tightly, refusing to let on to Bella how much my stomach hurt. It honestly felt like I had swallowed a lit Molotov Cocktail. The animal blood I had recently ingested had been enough to heal my other injuries, but not this.

Her fingertips hovered over the wound. "How did this happen?"

"Um, I'm not really sure. For a while there before you came, it was sort of a free-for-all. I was grappling with the redhead when one of the others came at me. I couldn't avoid the blow and they were damn strong." The hand she had over my stomach clenched into a fist. I covered it with my own. "It's okay. _I'm _okay."

Se swallowed thickly, looking at me with wet eyes. "They almost…you almost-" She blinked rapidly, turning her hand so that our fingers intertwined.

I moved to pull her into a hug, but quickly realized what a bad move that was when my torn muscles sent a wave of agony through me. Hissing, I fell backwards, unoccupied hand curling into a tight fist. "Dammit."

"Here," Bella whispered, releasing my hand and moving hers to the skin just above my stomach. A very faint glow spread out from her hand and suddenly the pain was gone, replaced by a very pleasant warmth.

My body relaxed of its own violation, a wave of lethargy rolling over me. "Hey, we agreed no healing." I couldn't seem to make my voice sound scolding. I sounded a little bit stoned.

"Yes, we did, but we never agreed that I wouldn't help you deal with the pain." She placed her finger on my lips just as I opened them. "It's not taking any toll on me, it just requires a little concentration."

I admitted defeat and let loose the last of my pent up tension, melting into Bella's soothing presence. Her fingers began running through my hair, adding to the sense of overwhelming relaxation that was making the world start to fade to just the two of us.

The next thing I knew, there was an urgent knock at the front door, Clare's voice calling out in welcome before six very anxious Cullens were breezing into the room.

"Alice, oh my God, are you okay?" Esme crouched down beside the sofa, golden eyes raking over me. She gasped when she caught sight of my stomach. "Carlisle, quickly."

My adoptive father moved closer as my siblings crowded in behind us. He was carrying one of those medical carriers that they used to transport organs, this one containing six flasks of blood.

"You guys I'm _fine_, it's really not as bad as it looks."

Emmett scoffed. "Alice, it _looks _like you have a giant hole in your stomach."

Rosalie put her hand on his arm. "Who did this to you? Jesse didn't say in her phone call."

"That's because I didn't know," Bella's sister said, looking at me. "You guys just said that it was three vampires. Did you find out who they were?"

I saw everyone looking at me curiously, even Bella, who probably looked the most curious of all. It made sense. She had heard James call me 'Mary-Alice' with some degree of familiarity. No doubt she was waiting for me to explain the connection.

Carlisle pulled one of the containers out of the carrier, twisting off the cap and letting the scent of blood rise into the air. "Give her a few minutes to get this down and heal, then she can tell us what she knows," he said in a firm voice, his professional side coming out now that he had someone to heal.

Despite knowing that she was okay with what I was, despite knowing that she herself had grown up with vampires, I found myself looking at Bella with a surprising feeling of apprehension. She had never seen me drinking blood, the blood of the animals she loved so much, or of the humans that she was oddly fascinated by.

She seemed confused by my hesitation at first, and then her expression softened as understanding shone in her eyes.

"Here," she told Carlisle, taking the container out of his hand. "Let me."

"You don't have to-"

"Yes," she cut me off, "I do."

Our eyes met and held as she brought the container to my lips, tipping it slightly so that I wouldn't have to strain for it. The warm liquid washed over my tongue and down my throat, moving throughout my body towards the most damaged area. I could feel the muscles knitting back together, the torn flesh healing and leaving behind unblemished skin once again. And through it all, Bella's eyes never left mine, never betraying any hint of revulsion or disappointment. Not that I thought that she would be, but I guess that dating an angel caused some insecurities that I would have to work through.

When I swallowed the last of the blood, she removed the canister and handed it back to Carlisle, her other hand rubbing soothing patterns on my newly healed stomach.

"There, all better," she whispered, running her fingers through my hair once again.

It was true, I was completely healed, but that didn't mean I had to move.

"So, about those vampires that tried to kill you?" Rosalie prompted, trying to hide her small smile at our behaviour.

"Oh, right…that." I sighed heavily. "He, um, James that is, he knew me."

"Knew you?" Micheal asked from his spot on the love seat beside his mate. "From where?"

"From my human life, or so he said." Eyes widened around the room. "He kept calling me 'Mary-Alice', and he told me that he had been hunting me for a while, way back when. But then another vampire, one he said was a vegetarian, turned me in order to save me. And he killed him for it."

My family looked floored. Edward ran a hand through his gravity-defying mop of bronze coloured hair. "Alice, that's-"

"Crazy, right? But I guess I'd have had to come across him at some point or another, considering the fact that we're immortal and the world is only so big. I'm not sure how the others have been feeding, Victoria and Laurent, he called them. There have only been enough deaths in Port Angeles to feed one vampire, but I guess it doesn't really matter."

Jasper looked perturbed, no doubt picking up on all of the emotions of the non-shielded people in the room. "And they just attacked you when they came across you? Despite knowing that you lived with a rather large coven, not to mention the fact that there is a pack of shape-shifters so close to where you were?"

"He said that he was a hunter and that I was the only person to have ever escaped him. He didn't want his record to be tarnished."

I felt Bella tense underneath me, the hand on my stomach growing increasingly warmer until she took a deep breath and the heat dissipated. "He did all of this, risked death and tried to kill you for a _record_?"

I grunted in affirmation, loosing myself once more to the gentle strokes on my stomach and the feel of her warm, soft hand running through my hair.

"Question, why did Carlisle have to bring you the human blood to heal when you have an angel practically attached to your hip?"

Emmett's question cut right through the fog and caused me to jerk upright. I took hold of the hand Bella was using on my stomach and gently removed the make-shift bandage, revealing the bite mark to the room. It had stopped bleeding sometime on our trek home but it still wasn't fully healed. The sight of the dark red blood on her arm and the even darker bite mark was even more disturbing now that I got a close look at it.

"I wouldn't let her. Not without knowing how this would affect her."

My family was once again surprised, worry plain on each of their faces.

"Are you alright?" Emmett asked, sounding beyond concerned. "You're not going to turn into a vampire, are you?"

It was a good question, but Bella shook her head. "I don't think so. Most of the venom is gone and if I were going to turn into a vampire, I think we'd notice by now."

Her father sat forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "Even so, young lady, you are staying at home from school for a few days until you're in the clear."

I honestly almost whined at that news. School was fun when Bella was there and this would diminish the amount of time I got to spend with her.

Bella's mother took one look at my distressed face and smiled knowingly. "Although, Micheal, I think that it's only prudent that someone should stay home with her, just in case, right?"

He nodded sagely. "Of course, what an excellent suggestion. Alice, I'd hate to impose, but I don't suppose that you'd be able to take a few days off to-"

"Yes."

Bella rolled her eyes and shook her head, looking between her parents with a long-suffering expression on her face. "Very subtle you guys."

I smiled at her and curled up into her side, pulling her hand into my lap to absently play with her ring. I pulled it off and slid it back on again, Bella's image flickering like a TV with bad reception.

The second time I did it, I noticed something odd about Bella's injured arm. Keeping the ring off, I turned her arm again and felt my eyebrows rise.

The bite mark, as well as some of the skin around it was glowing a light blue colour.

"Huh."

"Well, would you look at that." Bella's voice didn't sound particularly surprised. Everyone else in the room, however, leaned in closer in order to get a better look.

"You don't sound that worried," Rosalie observed.

Bella shrugged and sat back. "Well, when you glow as often as I do for various different reasons, it gets hard to be surprised when something knew pops up."

"It's true," Lee put in. "By the time Bella was three, we were completely desensitized from her glowing."

"Hmm, in fact, one time she woke up from a nightmare and spent the rest of the night wandering around like a child-sized night-light." Clare's voice sounded oddly wistful. "It was awfully pretty though…"

Her family nodded absently while mine exchanged confused glances. It had finally happened. We had actually found a family weirder than ours.

"Now that we have _that _established, what do we do about the three killer vampires on the loose who have a vested interest in killing my little sister?" At Rosalie's dry question, all humour fled the room.

Carlisle rubbed the back of his neck, sighing heavily. "Well, first things first, we should call the Quileute's. These vampires won't go too far now that they've found what they want." At this, his eyes met mine, looking worried, while Clare slipped quietly out of the room to make the phone call.

"That's not all that he wants," I said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"He said that after he had killed me, he would track down the person whose scent was on me. Bella's scent."

Jesse and Lee growled while Bella's father groaned. "It's not the first time a vampire has targeted Bella because of her…unique characteristics and it probably won't be the last. However," he continued, "we have eleven vampires and an angel between our two families, as well as several wolf shifters who will no doubt want a shot at these vampires who dared to hunt so close to their land."

"When you put it like that, you make it sound like we have nothing to worry about," I pointed out.

Jasper fielded this one. "We may still be in quite a bit of danger. During my time with Maria, I travelled with several hunters. Not just run of the mill vampires, but people who only really lived for the hunt. If this James is anything like they were, then our presence in such numbers will only make this hunt that much more exciting for him. He'll see it as a challenge, something for him to overcome and something that will make victory that much sweeter."

Emmett crossed his huge arms over his chest. "Then we just have to make sure that he never gets a taste."

Clare slipped back into the room and resumed her seat beside Micheal. "The wolves are on their way now. Well, all except for Paul, for obvious reasons. You might as well sit down while we wait."

There weren't enough seats for all of us, so Lee brought in some of the soft leather ones that dotted the upstairs of their house. He even brought in several kitchen chairs and arranged them in a semi-circle for when the Quileutes arrived. I took notice and slipped Bella's ring back on. No need to give them any more questions just yet.

No one spoke while we waited, the silence only broken by Sanderson's purring and the occasional soft meow from his spot on Rosalie's lap. She tried to pretend that she couldn't care less, but I could see her smiling at him when she thought that no one was looking.

By the time we heard the approaching cars, I was on the verge of engaging Bella in a 'make-out session'. Not the most appropriate time, I know, but being this close to her after almost dying was very distracting.

Seven of them had come; Sam, Jacob, Leah and her brother Seth, Quill, Embry and finally Billy, who declined a seat and happily informed them that he would stand, winking at Bella.

There had been a noticeable change in Billy lately, besides the obvious. He wasn't as solemn as he had been. Not that I had known him particularly well before hand, but I'm fairly certain that I'd never seen him smiling that widely before.

Once everyone was settled, I filled our guests in on what had happened in more detail than Clare had provided. After much growling and wolfish posturing, we got down to actual conversation. It seemed that only Leah and Seth had escaped the puffed-up self-importance of their pack mates.

"They tried to kill you?" Jacob growled, looking intensely at Bella.

She frowned. "No, they tried to kill Alice, I just got in the way." Her arm tightened around me when she said 'killed' and she pulled me almost completely into her lap.

Jacob looked at our position and then glanced away, obviously uncomfortable. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he had a crush on my angel.

"So what do you propose?" Sam asked. He wasn't as antagonistic as he used to be around us, but it was obvious that he was far from comfortable with so many vampires around.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "Well, al we really can do is increase our security. You'll have to patrol more frequently and we'll make sure that Bella and Alice aren't alone and vulnerable."

"Hey, I think that we did okay," Bella stated, sounding vaguely put out.

He smiled. "Yes, but we shouldn't take chances."

"That means no date tomorrow," Clare added.

Bella and I groaned.

"Why can't Bella be alone?" This from Leah.

"Well, it seems that this James fellow found my scent very interesting and plans to kill me."

All of the wolves looked angry at this. Bella was pretty damn lovable.

She sighed and looked at her arm. "I should also point out something else." She raised her hand to stop the cries of outrage from the wolves when they realized that she had been bitten. "I'm fine, I'm not turning into a vampire, so chill out. That's not what I wanted to point out."

I placed a hand on her cheek and turned her to look at me. "What is it?"

She pursed her lips. "It's James. When he bit me, he drank some of my blood before I could get away. Then when he looked at me, I saw that his eyes had changed. They looked sort of…purple."

Carlisle's eyebrows shot up. "_Purple?_"

"Yes, purple. I don't know if my blood will affect him in any specific way, but I felt I should mention it in case it _does _do something weird. This is me after all."

I could see that the wolves were desperately curious about that vague comment, but they knew that Bella would only tell them about herself in her own time and after all she had done for them, they were reluctant to push.

Billy leaned against a wall, one arm resting on his hip. "So what happens if they attack again?"

"Or if they bring friends?" Seth was the youngest of the wolves, but his voice was very deep.

Jasper, ever the tactician, intertwined his fingers and stared hard at the floor. "It is possible that they could make some newborns to help them. In the wars, they were frequently used as distractions while more experienced vampires attacked the commanders. They could very well bring some 'friends'."

No one liked the sound of that, me least of all. I didn't want innocent people to be roped into this life just so some mad man could get at me and my mate.

"So what do we do?" Billy asked again.

All eyes turned to Jasper, universally known to be the most experienced in these matters. He raised a blond eyebrow at the scrutiny.

"We prepare."

**A/N: And, cut!**

**Now that I have a structured update plan, they will be coming out faster than previously, but they won't be as long. Although, this one is four thousand words, so that's not bad.**

**I'd also like to hear what you think of the story and the direction it's going. Tell me anything you might want to see and I'll see what I can do. And above all, review**!

R&R!


	24. Chapter 24

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!(And other assorted Holidays!)**

**A/N: So sorry guys, but I had a serious case of writers block and just wasn't feeling very Bellice-y. Fear not, I shall never give up on this story and I will finish it even if it's the last bloody thing I do.**

**Also, I'm not sure who did because I don't have time to look through all my old reviews, but whoever said that my version of Bella reminded them of Karolina Dean from the Runaways, may I just say thank you, because curiosity made me pick up the first issue a while ago, and I've been in love ever since. In fact, I'm almost finished with the entire series and my new love for the comic medium has made me buy Wonder Woman: Blood, and I'm so getting Batwoman: Hydrology for Christmas.**

**Lesbian vigilantism; the best kind of vigilantism known to man…**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, nor do I want to, because the idea of being famous scares me…**

APOV

Vampires don't sleep. It was a universally acknowledged fact among the species that we remained awake at all times. As a result, I had no memory of what sleep was even like. In fact, losing whole chunks of time while you lay defenseless and unresponsive was actually kind of a scary concept for someone who didn't partake in that particular human necessity, or had any memories of ever doing so.

Right now, however, the prospect of 'drifting off' to sleep sounded very appealing.

Two days after our adventure, I was lying in Bella's ridiculously fluffy, circular bed, the owner of which was stretched out at my side, white hair spread out in all directions as her head lay on my shoulder and her arm encircled my waist. The combination of the decadently soft bed, Bella's warmth and the gentle purring of Sanderson as he lay curled up on my torso, conspired to defeat biology and the aforementioned universally acknowledged fact to put me to sleep.

Bella took a deep breath and began mumbling something unintelligible as she buried her head into my neck. She had been working on some techniques over the past two days to improve her control over her flame. So far, there hadn't been a noticeable improvement, but the constant use had left her tuckered out.

I should have been in school right now, but after everything that had happened, everybody was freaking out and insisted that we stay at home from school for a few days, as well as avoid being left alone for long, or, honestly, even short periods of time. That was why both Clare and Esme were downstairs right now, speaking very gently to avoid waking Bella or Sanderson, both of whom got cranky when they didn't get their naps.

Both mothers had actually hit it off really well, after a brief moment of awkwardness with neither one really knowing how to start the conversation. More baby photos had ensued and now they were acting as if they had known each other for years, despite the differences in their personality.

In fact, our two families were getting along very well, something that was never a sure thing when it came to two vampire covens. Rosalie and Jesse were a little antagonistic, but they had seemed to move on from that. Emmett, on the other hand, had taken a great liking to Micheal, who apparently reminded him of his father. I could see the similarities, both big men with gentle personalities and who loved a good laugh. Even Jasper and Lee seemed to be getting along rather well, both undoubtedly the quietest member of each family.

To say I was relieved was an understatement. I couldn't handle the thought of our two families having problems and forcing the two of us to spend time away from them. I loved Bella, and I was happy to show her off to my family.

I looked down at her peaceful face and listened to the sound of her slow breathing. A sound that was disrupted by a faint buzz. Humming slightly, Bella smacked her lips and rolled her shoulders, my eyes widening at the glow emanating from her back before two large wings materialized.

They stretched out fully before one of them flopped over the edge of the bed, while the other came to rest on top of me and the cat, covering us like a heavenly soft blanket.

Bella not waking up and Sanderson's lack of a reaction led me to believe that this was a normal occurrence. I couldn't help but smile at the girl by my side and how adorable she was.

"She did that all of the time when she was a baby."

The voice startled me so much I almost tossed the cat over the edge, only his tenacious clinging saving him. Not bothering to re-position himself, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

I looked towards the door, Bella's mother being partially obscured by the white feathers in my face. She was leaning against the door jam, fond smile on her face, her short blond hair ruffled and covered in stone dust.

"What?" My voice sounded a little high-pitched and I winced. My girlfriend's mother walking in on us while she was sleeping on top of me was more than a little unnerving.

"Unfurling her wings while she's still asleep." She pushed off from the door frame and moved into the room, taking a seat on the comfortable chair beside the heavy wooden desk. "I always assumed she was dreaming about flying, kind of like the way a puppy kicks its back legs when it's dreaming of chasing something. It did make holding her while she slept rather difficult."

I looked down on Bella's face, serene in deep sleep. "I wish I could have seen her growing up."

Clare laughed lightly. "With the absurd amount of home videos we took, you probably could."

My mouth turned up at the thought of watching hours of Bella's home videos, preferably while she was stewing in embarrassment right beside me. "I bet she was a handful."

Clare's expression turned thoughtful. "Yes and no. She was a fantastic child, not prone to tantrums or bad behavior But sometimes problems arose simply because she was _so _different, and a lot of the time, we had no idea what to do."

"Like what?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Her flame ability, for one." She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "The thing you have to understand, Alice, is that Bella doesn't get sick, not even so much as a runny nose. But for weeks before that ability surfaced, she had been running a high fever. It rose and fell at completely random intervals and once even got to the point where an ice pack we had placed on her forehead melted in a few minutes. We were terrified for her."

I absently ran one hand through Bella's hair and the other through Sanderson's fur, engrossed in the story. "What did you do?"

"Well, we knew we couldn't bring her to a hospital, for obvious reasons, but none of us had a medical background and even if we did, how were we supposed to treat her when we had no idea what was wrong with her in the first place?"

Clare stood up from the chair and began pacing back and forth in front of the clear glass doors that lead to the large balcony. "When the _incident _finally happened and that vampire was killed, Bella was inconsolable for _weeks_. We tried to convince her that it wasn't her fault; that she didn't have a choice, but she was a six year old child that was directly responsible for someone's death, no matter how deplorable that person was."

I pulled Bella in closer, my heart aching at the thought of what she had to go through at such a young age. Clare followed my movements and smiled, but it was tempered with the weight of those memories.

"By now you know my daughter well enough to know that she's a gentle soul. I remember one time when she was four years old, she cried for an hour after she accidentally killed a bee. So a person was…"She shook her head. "We ended up having to fire-proof as much of the house as we could, as well as keep fire extinguishers everywhere because Bella would accidentally light up at the slightest thing."

She stopped pacing and looked out the window. "It took a while for that to stop happening, but I think that one of the main reasons that she has such a hard time of controlling it, is because she's afraid of it. Her first experience with it did result in a death after all."

"So it's a psychological thing?" I asked, seeing how that could be a distinct possibility.

"Maybe, maybe not. But vampires are pretty flammable and she has always taken that into account. For those few weeks, she refused to sleep anywhere but in the bathtub, because when she had nightmares, she would sometimes light up and she was terrified of hurting us.

"She has since gotten over that particular sleeping habit, and she has enough control to use her ability around us safely, but only in a benign capacity. The real problem is in combat. If she focuses hard enough and has some time to prepare, she can pull it off, but I doubt she'll ever be able to _instinctively _use it to kill someone. Hurt someone maybe, but not kill."

She waved a hand and turned back to me. "Now don't get me wrong, if someone she cares about is in danger, she will do what's necessary, after all other options have been exhausted and she has no other choice left to her. But if it's her own life in jeopardy, she will always hesitate to take a life." She met my eyes. "And that worries me."

I knew she was right. Bella would only kill to protect someone she loved if all other options had been tried. If she could get away with simply incapacitating them, then she would. Killing was the ultimate last resort. But if she were the one in danger…she would hesitate.

I studied Bella's mother, taking in the determined look in her eye. "You're telling me this for a reason." It was a statement.

She held my gaze. "Yes. We don't know how the future will pan out, or how bad it will get. I know that you love my daughter, and that you two will be sharing every possible moment together. I also know that it's not even necessary for me to ask and that Bella is a capable young woman, but I need to know that you're willing to do everything in your power to keep her safe." Clare strode over to the edge of the bed and spoke in a low, intense tone. "Alice, I need to know that _you _won't hesitate."

My eyes fell to the girl in my arms who had quickly come to mean the world to me, who had given my life a sense of joy that I didn't even know it was missing.

"I won't."

BPOV

"Keep it up, Bella. Try to make them rotate faster. Better, but keep going. Come on, hustle."

I threw a glare at Rosalie as she sat on the lawn chair, magazine open on her lap, trying to act like she wasn't fascinated by the blue flames and sneaking glances every other second.

We had been at this for three hours now, on the third day of my new 'training regime'. The 'trainers' rotated and it was currently Rosalie's turn. They were trying (trying being the operative word here) to help me improve my control over my flame by thinking up random things for me to create or do, as well as providing 'motivation'. Apparently, I needed coaches because my attention span was, according to Rosalie, "shorter than a sugar-high four year old".

Rosalie, Alice and I were currently out back in the garden, with Micheal, Clare and Esme in the house. They had all taken the phrase 'safety in numbers' rather seriously and since the attack, Alice and I hadn't had a moment alone.

I looked at the space in front of me, presently taken up by three large ribbons of flame, each twisted into an infinity sign and each flowing like a river, requiring a high level of concentration to keep them going. I could tell that the training was helping, but it was slow going.

Alice was curled up on my personal fluffy lounge chair, after having laughingly joked that I would staple cotton wool to the chairs at school if I could get away with it. My universal love of fluffy furniture was well known by now.

She was bundled up in one of my fluffiest jackets, looking like some kind of adorable plush toy that I wanted to pick up and hug forever and ev—

"Bella." Rosalie's voice broke the spell and I turned to look questioningly at her. She looked up from her magazine, eyebrow raised and glanced at my practice spot. I followed her gaze, blushing slightly when I realized that my nice infinity signs had broken up and were now twirling listlessly in the breeze. Grinning sheepishly, I reformed the signs and got them moving again, breathing a sigh of relief when Rosalie went back to her magazine.

Alice giggled slightly, the sound completely at home with her current appearance. Not that Alice ever looked like the type of person who _wasn't _on the verge of giggling at any given moment, but right now she was downright cherubic.

There was a slight wind which caused her hair to bristle like an adorable hedgehog, and then flop around manically as though it had a life of its own. It was a cold wind, having come in from over the ocean, coupled with the fact that it was six pm and the sun was on its way down. Yet Alice's cheeks remained pale. Sometimes I thought about what it would be like to see her blush and how beautiful she would look with that gentle swell of colour in her cheeks.

She still looked beautiful pale, though, very nice indeed. Her golden eyes met mine, twinkling mirthfully. She held up her two hands, moving her fingers so that they formed the shape of a heart.

I smiled back at her, unable to resist returning the favour. At my mental command, one of the infinity signs twisted in on itself, changing shape and becoming larger, until a large blue heart was floating in the space between us. Her small smile turned into a huge grin, tiny hands clapping together reflexively in delight.

"I saw that," Rosalie broke the silence with a huff, drawing my attention back to the fact that, once again, my two remaining infinity signs looked like flailing, anthropomorphic spaghetti.

Alice and I glared at Rosalie in unison, whose only response was a daintily raised eyebrow.

I sighed, "We've been at this forever and it's late. Cant' we pick this up tomorrow?"

"I agree," Alice chimed in, springing up from her seat to skip across the garden and fling herself into my arms. The infinity signs and heart dissolved instantly.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Of course you agree, you just want any excuse to be able to snuggle." It sounded like an accusation of something horrible, but our blank expressions showed that we didn't consider it as such.

The blond threw up her hands in disgust. "Fine, Emmett and the others will be here in a few minutes anyway."

I pulled Alice closer to my side, tucking her head up under my chin. "Yay, family time."

Jasper, Emmett, Jesse, Edward and Lee had spent the day in Port Angeles, keeping on the lookout for any vampiric activity. Since the attack on Alice, it had been unnervingly quiet in regards to mysterious deaths. Not that I wasn't grateful, but having those vampires just fall off the map like that was worrisome. Alice's visions were back in action, but the presence of the wolves, as well as the fact that James and his gang weren't making any concrete decisions, made them unreliable at best. It also implied that James had at least a rudimentary understanding of her visions, which in turn implied that she had had them, or at least a basic version of them, when she was human.

Another thing that had me worried was the fact that the few visions of James that Alice had had since the attack were, as she put it, 'fuzzy'. She could barely see him and she couldn't make out what he was saying. It was even hard to see the people around him, which was causing havoc in trying to find out what he was doing. I was hoping that it was something about him that had always been there and not something to do with my blood in his system.

Rosalie stood u and scoffed at our position, something that she hadn't been able to do with and degree of success ever since she started smiling whenever Alice and I did something 'gooey'.

"Careful there, Rosalie, any more of that smiling and I'll begin to think you have a heart in there after all," I joked, nudging her with my elbow as we passed by on our way into the house.

"Then I'll just have to do something to show you how wrong you are to assume that," she replied haughtily.

Alice snickered." Like what, making the cat wait a whole minute before you lavish him with attention?"

Rosalie frowned fiercely, the affect somewhat ruined by the feline attempting to scale her leg the second she came in the door.

"Yeah," I murmured, you're a real hard-ass."

We moved into the living room, exchanging greetings with Clare and Esme as Rosalie took a seat between the two. Alice and I curled up on the love seat, her smaller frame on top of mine. I have decided that there was nothing better than snuggling, something that Emmett fiercely disagreed with. I was well aware of the fact that…sex with Alice would be glorious and would eventually oust snuggling from its place as 'Best Thing Ever', but until that happened, snuggling was still my number one.

As of yet, I still wasn't sure of when 'it' would happen. I didn't want to rush it or anything, but sometimes I wondered if Alice was ready for that next step. I mean, despite the fact that we hadn't been together that long, she had been waiting for almost a century for this. Was she okay with waiting even longer? It's not like I intended to wait until marriage or anything, unless she wanted to. And then there was the age thing, which would be more of a problem if we were human, but I figured I should at least wait until I was eighteen, most likely longer. Still…

Suddenly I was very aware of the fact that Alice was very close to me. It obviously wasn't the first time that she had been this close to me, but this was somehow different. You'd have to be blind not to notice how attractive Alice was, and I was more than willing to touch and kiss her, but I had never given _that _much thought beyond a formless expectation somewhere in the future.

She shifted against me, her fruity fragrance swirling around me like a cloud of fine perfume. The places where our bodies touched, pretty much everywhere seeing as she was essentially lying on top of me, were becoming noticeably warmer.

Alice noticed too, turning to look at me curiously. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." If she noticed that my voice was higher-pitched than normal, she didn't comment on it.

Just then, and to my eternal gratitude, the sound of a car became noticeably louder, an indication that it was on its way down our meandering drive-way.

Rosalie perked up slightly, anticipating the return of her mate. She may not have been as obvious as Alice or me, but she was measurably happier when Emmett was around. Emmett himself was usually in a good mood, but he got positively giddy when he was reunited with Rosalie after an absence of more than a few hours.

This much was obvious when he was the first one in the door, making his way directly towards Rosalie. He scooped her up into his arms and sat them both down onto the largest of the armchairs, planting a swift kiss on her lips and eliciting an honest to God giggle from her.

My resultant expression must have been downright strange because Rosalie, once she'd stopped kissing Emmett, looked at me with one raised eyebrow, as though daring me to comment.

I promptly turned my gaze away from her to await the return of the others. Jasper and Edward came in first, looking troubled, with Lee and Jesse not far behind. My brows drew down at their collective demeanor and I looked questioningly at Jasper. He saw my look and sighed. "We should wait for Carlisle to get here, we called him on the way home and it should only be a few moments." He and Edward exchanged glances. "We have something to tell you."

It wasn't long before Carlisle entered the room, worried expression plastered all over his face. "I got your call. What did you discover?"

The other looked to Jasper, allowing him to be their spokesperson. He sighed, moving to the mantle and staring into the cheery fire within.

"From what we know, they've been leaving town to feed, a necessity if they intend to stay in the area for any length of time. However, we were still able to pick up their scent on the outskirts of Port Angeles. We tracked it to various locations, including the loading bay of the Port Angeles hospital."

"The loading bay?" I asked, confused. Were they attacking patients? That area was way to populated to be hunting there.

He nodded. "The hospital was accepting a shipment from the blood bank, a large one. Two of the guards were killed, shot, and the truck was stolen."

"Shot? Are you sure it was them?" Esme asked.

"Their scent was all over the place, I'm sure of it. It's more than likely that they shot the guards to ensure that suspicion would fall onto black market smugglers, which it has." Anticipating our next question, he continued. "As to why they would steal the blood bank truck, I have to assume that they are in fact creating newborns."

Expressions around the room became resigned.

"James no doubt doesn't want to attract the attention of the Volturi, who would prevent him from executing his plan, not when Aro is so obsessed with Alice." He glanced at me. "Not to mention how interested he would be in you. It's not often someone as old as Aro gets to see something new."

I frowned, trying my best to focus on one possibly fatal problem at a time. The Volturi would have to wait.

"As a result, he can't make many, maybe fifteen in total and he absolutely _cannot _have his newborns get out of control or raise suspicion. That's where the blood truck comes in. He'll most likely take several humans to a secluded location and allow them some time to gain control, using the blood from the truck instead of letting them hunt and cause problems. He'll also 'restock' the supply regularly with more blood bags and the occasional human. Then, when he's ready, he'll make his him and his coven, that's eighteen vampires, while we only have eleven." I coughed and he smiled apologetically at me. "Pardon me. And one angel. The wolves would also be willing to help, at least once they found out that Bella was in danger, but you have to remember that he isn't trying to defeat us. He's trying to get _around _us. Our deaths are not important, only Alice's and Bella's. The newborns are a distraction, expendable pawns, and if he's been doing this as long as I suspect, then he'll know how to use them well."

He looked over all of us, a piece of blond hair falling over his left eye. "Our lives over the last few decades have been relatively peaceful, even I haven't been in a serious battle in a long time. Now the Van Allens have had to deal with vampires coming after Bella before, but from what Lee tells me, not in these numbers. James is experienced and dangerous, as are his coven mates, and we need to stay one step ahead of them if we're going to all come out of this in one piece."

Carlisle spoke up next. "We should contact the wolves, let them know what we found out."

Micheal nodded in agreement. "I'll go make the call now."

As my father left the room, I turned back to Jasper. "I don't suppose you were able to track them to where they were hiding."

He shook his head regretfully. "No, they submerged themselves in the river and let it carry them away. We traveled the river banks hoping to pick up their scent again, but it emptied into the ocean. James knows how to avoid being hunted himself."

"Oh well, wishful thinking I guess."

As I watched my family and now-extended family bustle around the room, making plans and trying to anticipate James' next move, I caught sight of a wool-swaddled egg lying in a little basket on the coffee table.

It wasn't that long ago that we had been jokingly trying to convince Micheal to change it's 'diapers' as was his duty as a grandfather, and now we were on the verge of fighting for our lives. I took a tighter hold of Alice, feeling her turn into me.

I just hoped we all came through this alive.

**A/N: Okay, I know that it is by and far my worst chapter ever, but I really, really had trouble writing it. It was taking a ridiculously long amount of time and I even put writing off for a while, so I figured that I should just get this chapter out now and try to focus on the next one, which will hopefully be better. I will NEVER make you guys wait this long again, I swear (even though my promises seem to mean nothing now). **

**Anyway, special thanks to ScOut4It for reviewing every chapter in succession, as well as all those who reviewed. I'll even try to respond to them via PM, which is a thing authors on this site do, strangely enough.**

**Also, sorry for any typos, I have to go to Mass soon and I'm not even changed yet.**

**Happy Holidays!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I don't even know if any of you guys are still following this story and I wouldn't even blame you. But holy crap, this year moved fast. Christmas was, like last week; it's 2014 in four bloody months. What is even happening?**

**Anyway, third year of college was a bitch, so I'm citing academic reasons for my absence, followed by intense procrastination.**

**Again, I would just like to reassure you that I will not abandon this story, for those of you still left. I also won't bother to make an estimate as to when I will update again, because I'm flaky like that.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

?

_A tall middle-aged man stands on the side of a secluded road, wearing a thick black coat and a bright red scarf, hands jammed deep within the large pockets to ward off the late-night chill._

_The lights of the man's broken down car illuminate the night, but the dense forests on either side of the road remain shrouded in darkness. Taking a drag of an almost finished cigarette, the man looks around him, impatience mixed with unease on his broad face. _

_He starts suddenly, jerking in place before pulling a battered phone out of his pocket, pressing a button and putting it to his ear. His mouth moves, but the lack of sound in this scene prevents understanding. The expression he now wears is one of frustration as he becomes more agitated, shouting soundlessly into the phone, arms waving in anger. _

_This lasts for several long seconds before the man stops gesturing, pulling the phone away from his ear to stare at it in disbelief. His fist clenches around the now disconnected device as he shoves it back into his pocket. Throwing the cigarette butt to the ground, he strides angrily to the front of the car where he leans against the hood._

_His breath frosts the air in front of him, the lights turning the little puffs into shining smoke._

_What natural light there is from the moon and stars is obscured by the heavy clouds, leaving only the harsh glare of the headlights to illuminate the person suddenly standing in the middle of the road. Wearing a ratty army jacket over a simple t-shirt and jeans, his lean, six foot frame cuts an impressive figure._

_Sandy blond hair falls into striking purple eyes, the physical beauty of his face marred by the look of predatory hunger adorning it._

_The man finally takes note of the stranger, his surprised exclamation obvious despite the lack of sound. Hands raised in an unconvincing threat, he takes a step back, base instinct no doubt driving his actions._

_The blond man grins and evens the distance again by taking a step forward. He lifts his own arms in the universal 'I mean you no harm' gesture, but his eyes betray him. The first man sees it too and reacts, spurred on by a feeling of dread he couldn't quite comprehend._

_He bolts for the door to his car, fumbling with his keys before diving inside and slamming the door behind him._

_The blond man watches on in amusement, taking slow steps towards the stationary car. His quarry stares back at him, chest rising and falling in pure, instinctual fear. _

_He begins frantically searching his pockets, the keys to his car finally in his grip just as the blond man reaches him._

_He has no chance to start the car before the door to his sanctuary is ripped from its hinges and he is pulled out into the night, mouth open in a soundless scream._

APOV

"Alice?" A voice called to me, warm hand coming to rest on my shoulder. "Alice, are you okay?"

I blinked rapidly as the vision ended, the frozen face of the terrified man fading until it was replaced by Bella's. Her eyebrows were drawn down in concern over brown eyes, teeth gently biting into the soft flesh of her lower lip.

My visions were still in the process of coming back fully, but they were now strong enough that I had begun to zone out whenever an intense one hit. My family were used to this, but Bella and her family were definitely not, and as a result she tended to worry whenever I suddenly stopped moving. She also seemed to have a powerful urge to poke me, but she had been getting that particular impulse under control.

I let out a shuddering breath, placing my hand over Bella's and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Both of our families were in a clearing out in the woods, awaiting the arrival of the Quileutes. Eleven sets of eyes were resting on me, a mix of curiosity and trepidation in their gazes.

"I had another one. A man this time, on some secluded road. There were no identifiable markers; I don't know where it is." I growled, swiftly kicking a rock into the surrounding trees. "Dammit."

"Hey, this isn't your fault," Bella told me gently.

I scoffed. "Of course it is. He's after _me_. I'm the reason he stayed here, I'm the reason that he found out about you, and I'm the reason that that man and two other innocent humans are now either dead or vampires." I shrugged her hand off my shoulder and stepped closer to the trees, head down.

The vision that I had just had hadn't actually happened yet and if I could just _think_, try to find out where it was, I could stop it. Even as I thought this, I knew that it was hopeless. That stretch of road was like countless others in this part of the country, there was just no way I would be able to find him in time.

"Hey, don't do that to yourself." Bella's usually soft voice was stern, face set in a determined scowl as she walked towards me. "This is _not your fault_. James is the one that is to blame for this, for _all _of this. He is the one who attacked that man and the people before him. He is the one who decided to stay here and carry out some century-old vendetta against you. He's the one who decided to raise this army. Heck, he's the one who caused you to become a vampire in the first place. I don't know if anything I say is going to change this for you, but taking on all the blame for this is not only illogical, it's downright stupid and you are anything but stupid. You are an amazing person and I am not going to stand back and let you blame yourself for this when it is in fact the fault of a homicidal maniac, got it?"

I blinked slowly, more than a little taken aback by this new side to the normally laid-back girl. The rest of my family seemed equally stunned, eyebrows raised all around.

Bella cleared her throat, obviously a little uncomfortable with the attention. She broke her gaze away from my face, looking down at the ground. "So, yeah. Um, glad we got that squared away then. Ahem."

I sighed in resignation and laid my forehead on her collarbone, inwardly smiling a little at her flustered expression.

Intellectually, I knew that she was right, that this was on James. Emotionally, however, I couldn't help but feel that this was my responsibility.

Bella's hands came up; one coming to rest on my back, while the other began running through my hair soothingly.

"She's right, Alice," Esme told me gently, patting my shoulder comfortingly. "We can't blame ourselves for the actions of others. If we did that, we'd never have a moments peace."

The others made sounds of agreement and my smile widened, though it was still a shadow of what it usually was. The situation was too serious, the losses too real for it to be truly happy, but I was still extremely thankful for having such a supporting family, not to mention having Bella in my life. I moved in closer to her, warmth suffusing me in what seemed like every cell.

That was how the Quileutes found us several minutes later as they entered the clearing. They had toned down the aggression towards us lately in lieu of Bella's closeness with our family, but we were still vampires to them and seeing us doing something as _human _as offering or seeking comfort obviously unnerved some of them. After all, it was easier to hate something that you thought of as less than a person.

One of the Quileutes was in wolf form, medium size and dark brown in colour. I wasn't familiar enough with their wolf forms to be able to identify him, but based on who was missing, it was most likely Jared.

As the respective leaders of each coven, Carlisle and Clare stood at the front of the group, their mates close behind. Sam, at the forefront of his pack, stood up to his full height, eyes meeting each of theirs in turn. His stance was wary, but not overtly hostile. The others remained behind him, deferring to his status as Alpha.

Our common enemy and fledgling alliance couldn't quite remove the tense atmosphere that arose whenever we all met like this.

That tenseness eased up quite suddenly when Bella poked her head around Esme's shoulder and smiled at the wolves, one hand raised in a cheery greeting. "Hi."

Sam's shoulders relaxed somewhat as the others, minus Jared, instinctively returned the smile, Seth even going so far as to return the wave. "Hi Bella."

Jacob, a pace behind Sam, took notice of the fact that Bella was still hugging me with a hand on my back and his smile faltered, turning into a frown that would have been almost comical had it not been that he looked like a kicked puppy. That he had an incredibly obvious crush on Bella was, while not exactly surprising, nonetheless unwelcome. I trusted Bella enough that I wasn't jealous, but there was a chance that this could end badly depending on how interested Jacob was in her. Although this was Bella, so it was safe to assume that Jacob, being an individual with a working brain, was pretty interested.

"Bella. How are you?" Sam's deep voice carried a hint of affection, Bella having healed his mate and one of his pack members smoothing their relations immeasurably.

"Oh, I'm fine. Evil vampire on the loose, overall sense of impending doom, nothing new."

"Speaking of evil vampires on the loose and impending doom, didn't we come out to these deep, dark woods for a reason?" Rosalie was never much one for small talk, straight to the point as always.

We were out in this particular area of the woods because it was relatively close to La Push, well into their territory beyond the boundary line. The only reason they had let us get this close in the first place was because they no longer felt comfortable being far away from their home, on the off chance James decided to attack the humans there. No doubt one of the wolves, Paul from the looks of it, had remained behind in wolf form and was communicating with the wolf here with us. If anything went wrong, the rest of the pack were close enough to get there quickly.

We could have done much of the planning over the phone, Jesse having gone to the trouble of purchasing scrambled cell phones to ensure that no one was listening in. It was almost certainly unnecessary, James not exactly having the look of someone who had much technological know-how, but she preferred to be safe than sorry. However, we intended to show the Quileutes how to counter newborns during these meetings and that did require our physical interaction.

"You said that you had information?" Sam urged.

Carlisle nodded in return. "Alice has had several visions over the past few days, showing James attacking several humans. The one she had before you arrived puts the count up to three." The wolves growled at this, looking more agitated by the second. They saw themselves as protectors, and not being able to stop this must have been an unpleasant experience for them. "Considering the fact that he has already obtained a fully stocked shipment of blood, it's safe to assume that these humans are now vampires in his army, as opposed to food."

Jacob frowned. "I thought that Alice saw the _future._ You couldn't prevent any of these attacks? What about the one she had before we got here, shouldn't that be happening right now?"

In all honesty, the question was a valid one, but I couldn't help but feel that it was a personal jab. My gaze turned down, staring at Bella's shoes. They were a nice brown colour, went with her shirt.

Bella scowled, her voice taking on the slightly raspier quality it did whenever she was annoyed. "James is familiar with Alice's visions. He's made sure to avoid attacking anyone in an easily recognizable area, so she can't tell where it's happening."

Jasper voiced his agreement, his own voice sounding slightly annoyed at the younger boy. "You need to be aware that Alice is not all-seeing. Your presence in these events, and to a lesser degree, Bella's, are causing her visions to be less effective. Even if you weren't here, it's doubtful that she would be getting a vision of everyone he attacks."

"So he might have more vampires in his army than just three."

"Yes. He can only make a limited number; a newborn army of too large a size will definitely attract the Volturi and that is something that we do not want."

My family, as well as the Van Allens looked positively ill at the thought, but the wolves didn't look nearly worried enough. Sam still stood with the self-assured ease of one who thought he could handle anything the world threw at him. He wasn't without any caution, but he was a new, relatively untested wolf, and suddenly having all that power at his fingertips was making him overly-confident. He hadn't had to deal with the harsh reality that being a supernatural creature didn't make you the top dog.

Edward was no doubt reading the same thing in their minds. "They're worse than you think they are, Sam. They are comprised of some of the most powerful vampires to have ever lived, some of which are _thousands _of years old. They've put down armies that make the one James is building look pathetic in comparison. One of their leaders, Caius, hates shapeshifters with a single-minded passion and will not take kindly to your existence." He turned to look at Bella. "Not to mention the lengths that Aro will go to in order to acquire Bella, should he find out about her. If we're being completely honest with ourselves, despite the considerable danger James and his coven pose, the real threat is that he'll inadvertently draw the attention of the Volturi down upon us. If that happens then we are, to put it plainly, well and truly screwed."

As the Quileutes looked at each other with poorly concealed unease, I felt a familiar sense of dread. It was one that had been trying to get my attention since I had first met Bella, only to be pushed aside by my own stubbornness and my determination not to let anything ruin my newfound happiness.

Given how long he has lived and his warped sense of time as a result, it might well take a hundred years, but one thing was certain: Aro _would _find out about Bella sooner or later, and when he did, I had no idea what to do about it.

BPOV

I looked down at Alice in concern, wondering what was going through her mind. She didn't even seem to be paying attention to the rest of the conversation; she just moved in a bit closer to me- not easy seeing as we were practically stuck together at this point- and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Hey," I whispered to her, her subdued attitude making me worry. "What's the matter? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled back.

The others were still engaged in their conversation and we were speaking too low for them to hear us clearly, but I still manoeuvred my body slightly to shield Alice completely from their sight.

"Alice, you're not fine." I placed my finger underneath her chin and gently tilted her head upwards until she met my gaze. My concern doubled as I saw the faint trace of tears in her eyes, tears that would never fall but were there all the same.

Instead of trying to convince me again that she was 'fine', which would not have worked even a tiny bit, she merely looked at me imploringly. "Can we please talk about this later?"

I hesitated briefly, desperately wanting to get to the bottom of this, but if Alice didn't want to talk about it, I wasn't going to push her.

"Okay." I ran my hand up and down her back again, knowing how soothing she found it to be. A little healing energy passed between us, causing her to close her eyes and hum blissfully, leaning into me fully.

The sound of a throat clearing nearby brought us out of our moment, a quick glance revealing the amused looks of our families, as well as the uncomfortable awkwardness of the wolves.

Fighting the blush that was trying to take over my face proved to be fruitless, but I made a valiant effort nonetheless.

"You asked something?" I was more than a little envious of how unembarrassed Alice was by all of this, but I suppose she has had a century to get over social unease.

Clare's eyebrow rose, but she refrained from commenting. "Have your visions recovered enough for you to be able to use them in battle to a sufficient degree?"

She thought about that for a moment before nodding. "They won't be as effective as they usually are due to the presence of the wolves, but they'll do. To be honest, when it comes to fighting without my visions, I don't have much experience. To be on the safe side, I should probably practise fighting without them for a while, in case they aren't as effective as I hope."

She nodded. "Good, good. While you were…distracted, we agreed on a patrol schedule that will work in conjunction with the wolves to cover the most ground and hopefully ensure that they won't slip through unnoticed."

Jasper stepped forward. "This won't be about confrontation, but observation. You'll be patrolling in groups, but that doesn't mean that you should go chasing off after any vampires you find. If you have them pinned down in a location and are sure of your ability to take them out, then you can engage, _cautiously._ However, if you think for even a _second _that they are leading you in any pre-determined direction or their numbers are too great, then break off."

"Just let them go?" Sam asked incredulously.

"No, not let them go, just don't engage. Let the other teams know what you saw; regroup, and we'll go from there. We don't know how much, if any, experience James has with leading a newborn army, but we're not going to underestimate him." He placed his hands on his hips, standing stiffly. "A tactic I've seen many times is a general sending one of his fastest, more controlled soldiers into enemy territory, while keeping a strong force in a certain location. The soldier approaches a newborn contingent and then runs. The newborns, having little control and being already riled up from battle, give chase and run right into the ambush. It's a mistake human soldiers would never make but it works so effectively in this instance because the soldiers in question are still acting mostly on instinct. They see the prey run, they pursue."

"We're not newborns," Jacob pointed out, looking affronted at the mere thought.

"But you are aggressive and over-confident, which is just as bad. We need to work together and be smart about this, so that we can avoid casualties for as long as possible."

The unspoken assumption that there would eventually _be _casualties sobered the mood considerably.

"And if we're supposed to be so cautious, how can we be sure if we can take them out?"

Jasper pursed his lips, brushing his golden hair behind one ear. He looked more leonine than ever, stalking back and forth, obviously in his element. Social interaction may not have been high on his list of things that caught his attention, but put him in a battle strategy meeting and he was all set. "To be honest, you never really can in a situation like this, especially with unknown vampires operating under an unknown leader. As you're well aware by now, some vampires gain special abilities when they turn. It's not overly common, and most abilities take a long time to master, or are impractical in a contact situation, but do not under any circumstances underestimate them. You never know what they might be capable of.

As for how you can ascertain whether or not you can take them out, you'll have to use your best judgement. If their numbers rival your own, try not to risk it. If there's only one of them and more of you, then attack while keeping in mind the possibility of an ambush. If you can safely capture them alive for information gathering, all the better, but do not take any chances and if you do go down that route, make sure that they are incapacitated fully. I find removing all four limbs and avoiding the mouth area works best, but we can go into capture protocol at a later time."

Leah spoke up for the first time since the meeting began, looking at Jasper with a new respect. Not to mention a little bit of unease, which I understood completely given the dismemberment talk. "Just to clear something up that I've been wondering about since this whole 'build-an-army' thing began, why would they even fight for him in the first place? For all intents and purposes, he ruined their lives and turned them into vampires. Why wouldn't they just turn on him?"

He shook his head. "Newborn vampires are confused, frightened and very easily manipulated. Considering how intelligent and prepared he's proven himself to be, James will have done his research and taken people with little to no ties. No family, few friends, unimportant jobs; essentially, people who wouldn't be missed. This ensures that they wouldn't have much to go back to and would eventually see vampirism as a gift, making their lives better. Giving such power to people who have had so little of it in their lives will make them feel indebted to him, willing to fight for him once he's done training them."

I could feel my eyebrows drawing down, the concept of 'training' a sentient being a little disturbing. "Training?"

"Yes. He gave them the power; he's the one who holds all the answers, the one who's teaching them about this new life. He's also put himself in charge of blood acquisition and distribution, keeping them dependent on him. They're still new and fear the unknown; they don't know what to do with their new lives and so they need him, for guidance and for answers. This ensures a level of loyalty that he needs to control them. He'll also have outright lied to them about both his own intentions and ours. We may be able to plant the seed of doubt, but convincing them fully would take time, something we don't have in abundance."

"One more thing before we get to training," Carlisle spoke up. "It turns out that James drinking some of Bella's blood _did _have an effect on him. So far, it seems to have effected only Alice's visions of him, making them harder to perceive than normal. However, it may have had more drastic effects for all we know."

God I hoped not.

"Would it really have changed him that much?" This came from Embry, one of the shorter members of the pack.

"The type of blood a vampire drinks can have a big effect. For example, the fact the we drink animal blood allows us to form more emotional bonds than human drinking vampires, but it also makes us comparatively weaker than them. While he didn't drink a significant amount of Bella's blood, its effects on a vampire are as yet undocumented. It could prove beneficial to him, or even harmful. It could weaken him, or give him greater strength for however long it lasts. Until we know for sure, we should be careful; we don't want any unexpected surprises."

I raised my hand sheepishly, wanting to get something cleared up. "Just while you're all here, could you give us a quick run-down of the patrol schedule since we, um, missed it?"

Jasper smiled, more than a little amused. "Four wolves will be staying at La Push at all times to protect the people there, while the other four will be joining the patrols with six of us. This means five, two man recon teams, most of which will have one wolf and one vampire, to allow for communication between the teams. The remaining four vampires will stay to protect you and Alice." Alice and I started to protest at this, but he cut us off. "No, this is how it has to be. You're the ones he's after; you're the ones that need to stay safe. The personnel will rotate on a fixed six hour shift, excluding Micheal, who will stay at the house with you continuously. This allows him to use his ability and pilot one of his creatures as a separate team. He'll need to be protected while he's under, which is something the three vampires remaining at home can do. If something happens at your location, you can wake him up and he'll assist you there, meaning he'll be useful both at home and in the field."

"What about me?" I asked, knowing that my ability to fly would be more than useful. "I can...scout very, ah, effectively."

"True. We'll most likely use your…scouting abilities in the future, but for now, you need to stay put so we know where you are at all times."

I glanced at Alice, her frown making it obvious that she didn't like the idea of me 'scouting' while she was left behind. I smiled at her reassuringly, thankful when she returned it, albeit in a smaller fashion. I really needed to get to the bottom of her strange mood, and soon.

"Okay." Jasper clapped his hands, looking for all the world like an enthusiastic school teacher; if school teachers taught their students the most effective ways of dismembering their enemies that is.

"Let's get started."

**A/N: God, I feel the need to just hide behind a big rock. To be honest, as bad as I feel, my battle with horrendous procrastination is not going away any time soon, so I won't even make a guess as to when I'll update next. I'll certainly finish this story, but God only knows when at this point.**

**As I said above, I'll understand if you need to drop this story, and if you already have and are consequentially not reading this, I don't blame you.**

**So I'll just say thanks for reading, try to review and I shall see you at some time in the future possibly. Metaphorically speaking, because I am in fact never going to see you, unless something very strange happens.**

**R&R**


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